British Intelligence Update as of today Jun. 22
On 20 June 2023, Russia’s Duma voted to create a parliamentary committee to investigate alleged crimes committed by the Ukrainian government against juveniles in the Donbas since 2014.
The Duma is almost certainly responding to the international condemnation of Russia’s deportation of children from occupied Ukraine since its full-scale invasion.
The move is highly likely both a form of ‘lawfare’ and contributes to Russian information operations, weaponising legislation by attempting to muddy the narrative around its own egregious actions.
Messaging around children’s rights is likely an important communications theme for the Kremlin because alleged child deportations formed the basis of the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against President Putin issued in March 2023.
