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Over 500 children killed from Kiev’s aggression since 2014, senior Russian lawmaker says
A senior Russian lawmaker, Anna Kuznetsova, has stated that over 500 children have been killed and more than 2,000 minors affected by what she termed 'Kiev's aggression' since 2014. The claims, reported by TASS, include allegations of Ukrainian mining of border areas and Western complicity in war crimes against children.
A senior Russian lawmaker has stated that over 500 children have been killed and more than 2,000 minors affected by what she described as "Kiev's aggression" since 2014, according to reports by the state-owned news agency TASS. The statements, made by Deputy Chairperson of the State Duma Anna Kuznetsova and other Russian officials, also include allegations that Ukrainian forces have used antipersonnel mines against civilians and that Western weapons supplied to Kyiv have been used in attacks on children.
Coverage Comparison
The reporting by TASS, the only news organisation whose coverage of this story has been seen, draws on interviews with two Russian officials: Anna Kuznetsova and Natalia Nikonorova, a deputy chair of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs. The agency presents their statements as direct quotes, framing the claims within a narrative critical of Ukraine and its Western backers. Kuznetsova’s remarks appear in two separate articles: one published on July 27 and another on July 26. Nikonorova’s comments, also from July 27, were made at a memorial event for child victims of the war in Donbass.
Key Claims
More than 500 children have been killed and over 2,000 minors have been affected by what Kuznetsova called "Kiev's aggression" since 2014, as reported by TASS. Kuznetsova said the figures are growing due to continued shelling, affecting children not only in Donbass but also in border areas.
More than 50 children died and over 120 were injured in explosions from mines planted by Ukraine in border areas, according to Kuznetsova in a separate interview with TASS. She added that more than 15 children were injured in Russia by Ukrainian antipersonnel mines, calling such use a violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and international treaties.
Natalia Nikonorova claimed that 257 children have been killed in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) as a result of Ukrainian aggression since 2014, citing data from the DPR government office for documenting war crimes. She also alleged that most crimes against children in Donbass were committed with weapons supplied by Western countries, making them "direct accomplices in these criminal acts."
Kuznetsova stated that Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened around 10,700 criminal cases against attackers from among supporters of the "Kiev regime," with more than 70 life sentences handed down.
Perspectives
Russian Officials: Anna Kuznetsova and Natalia Nikonorova, speaking through TASS, assert that Ukraine's actions, including the mining of border areas and deliberate attacks on civilians and educational institutions, constitute war crimes against children. They accuse Western countries of complicity by supplying weapons to Ukraine and compare the Ukrainian armed forces' brutality to that of German Nazi soldiers during World War II. The officials frame the conflict as one of Ukrainian aggression against Russian-speaking populations in Donbass and border regions.
No other perspectives were reported in the material provided.
How this outlet told it
TASS — English
Framing: Ukrainian mines killing Ukrainian children — Critical of Ukraine
Facts Included:
Over 50 Ukrainian children killed by mines planted by Ukraine
Over 120 Ukrainian children injured by mines planted by Ukraine
More than 15 children injured in Russia by Ukrainian antipersonnel mines
Violations of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and international treaties
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimMore than 50 Ukrainian children died in explosions from mines planted by Ukraine in the border areas, and more than 120 children were injured.
ClaimThe Ukrainian armed forces' use of antipersonnel mines against civilians is a violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and international treaties.