Zelenskyy alleges Russia is abducting Ukrainian kids, training them to fight

Exclusive Face The Nation Zelenskyy alleges Russia is abducting Ukrainian kids and training them to fight .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-face-the-nation.jpg'); } By Margaret Brennan Margaret Brennan Moderator, "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan;" Chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan is moderator of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on CBS. Based in Washington, D.C., Brennan is also the Network's chief foreign affairs correspondent and a contributing correspondent to 60 Minutes. Additionally, she appears regularly on the "CBS Evening News," leading coverage from Washington when news breaks on the political and foreign affairs fronts. Read Full Bio Margaret Brennan May 31, 2026 / 12:43 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CBS News in an exclusive interview that his government has evidence that Russia is abducting Ukrainian children and training them to fight against fellow Ukrainians. It is an allegation that may constitute a war crime, according to the International Criminal Court. This is the first time that Zelenskyy has publicly made this accusation, which goes beyond the documented evidence that Russia has a state-sponsored program of taking Ukrainian children to camps for reeducation or "Russification."Mr. Zelenskyy did not detail what evidence his government has.  The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Vladimir Putin's arrest in 2023 due to what it referred to as a program of "unlawful deportation of population (children)." The Kremlin called it a humanitarian effort to care for war orphans, and has broadcast images of Putin and the ICC-indicted program head Maria Lvova-Belova embracing some of the kids.In an exclusive interview with Margaret Brennan that aired Sunday on "Face the Nation," Zelenskyy emphasized that Russia has long been treating children essentially as combatants, and offering to trade the chi...