Kremlin-aligned accounts are using the Epstein document release to push false claims about saving Ukrainian children from trafficking, a tactic to whitewash forced deportations.
LONDON: Pro-Kremlin social media accounts are exploiting the latest release of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents to amplify false narratives that Russia is saving Ukrainian children from sex trafficking.
This disinformation campaign, detailed in AFP research and a report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), seeks to contradict well-documented accounts of Russia’s forced deportation of thousands of Ukrainian minors since the 2022 invasion.
Posts viewed millions of times on platforms like Facebook, X, and TikTok push the baseless claim that the documents prove Ukraine is a global hub for trafficking.
One X post, viewed over three million times, falsely stated the files “confirmed … Putin didn’t kidnap children from Ukraine, instead evacuated them to protect them”.
The ISD report noted a surge of over 15,000 posts on X in the two days following the document release on January 30.
Researcher Liana Sendetska said the release “plays into their hands” as a way to amplify previous Kremlin claims about Ukraine.
Co-author Olga Tokariuk explained the strategy is to “saturate the information space with all of this to see if it sticks”.
The think tank also identified over 150,000 X posts pushing similar narratives about Ukraine and trafficking between September 2024 and August 2025.
These false claims have been amplified by some European politicians and media figures.
A documentary from Tommy Robinson’s Urban Scoop platform featured unproven allegations by former UK lawmaker Andrew Bridgen, who also appeared on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s show.
Tokariuk noted the focus on British officials is because the UK is “one of the strongest supporters of Ukraine”.
Kyiv states Russia has unlawfully moved nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children, while Moscow acknowledges taking some, claiming it was for their safety.
