29 April 2026
(Jean Reno. PHOTO: program-television.org)
The stories of children abducted by Russia, in particular from Crimea and Kherson region, became the basis for a new novel by French actor Jean Reno about Russia's crimes. The book reveals the topic of forced displacement and "re-education" of Ukrainian teenagers through the fictional story of a spy mission.
He spoke about this in an interview with Télé 7 Jours.
French actor Jean Reno presented his novel L'Évasion ("The Escape"), dedicated to the topic of the illegal export of Ukrainian children by Russia.
The book, published by XO Éditions, tells the story of Emma, a former masseuse who is recruited by the French intelligence agency DGSE. Undercover, she travels to Siberia to infiltrate a so-called "rehabilitation" camp for Ukrainian teenagers and collect evidence of crimes ranging from illegal detention to ideological indoctrination of children.
Renaud himself admitted that he was shocked by the scale of this problem, but decided not to make political statements but to convey his experiences through the artistic form. According to him, the idea to create a novel came after he learned about the facts of child abduction and attempts to "re-educate" them.
Research by Yale University suggests that Russia may be holding about 35,000 Ukrainian children who are considered missing. Some of them have been transferred to Russian families, while others have been sent to military camps or boarding schools.
The Ukrainian side confirms the forced removal of more than 19,000 children, while Russia traditionally denies this data, underestimating the scale of the problem.
Also in April, a large-scale installation of 20,000 teddy bears was deployed in downtown Washington, D.C., to remind the world of the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia, particularly from Kherson and Crimea. The action signaled to the international community the need to return the deported children and increase pressure on the aggressor country.
Анна Бальчінос