Russia Appoints 37-Year-Old Yana Lantratova as Rights Ombudswoman Amid 1,200 Child Transfer Cases
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 18
Russia Appoints 37-Year-Old Yana Lantratova as Rights Ombudswoman Amid 1,200 Child Transfer Cases
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 18
Russia’s lower house overwhelmingly approved Yana Lantratova as human rights commissioner, placing a politician accused by Ukraine of helping transfer Ukrainian children into a post that reports directly to Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine’s security service says Lantratova helped move two children from occupied Kherson with Inna Varlamova, wife of A Just Russia leader Sergei Mironov; a 10-month-old girl was later adopted by the Mironovs.
Ukrainian officials say the girl already had a legal guardian, and media reports said the Mironovs changed her surname and issued a new birth certificate listing a Moscow suburb as her birthplace.
The appointment lands amid wider accusations that Moscow deported or forcibly displaced thousands of Ukrainian children; a UN commission said it identified about 1,200 such cases from 2022.
The post has been one of the few regular channels with Kyiv during the war, with Lantratova’s predecessor helping handle prisoner swaps even as the ICC has already issued warrants over child deportations.
With its new rights chief accused of war crimes, is Russia openly defying international law on child abduction?
Russia is accused of 're-educating' abducted children. Can international law save their identities before they are lost forever?
The 2026 Appointment of Yana Lantratova: Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office Under Kremlin Control Amid Child Transfer Allegations
Overview
On May 14, 2026, Yana Lantratova was appointed as Russia’s Human Rights Ombudswoman, drawing immediate attention due to her controversial legislative history and the complex humanitarian situation in Russia. Her previous work focused on children and international relations, including a bill to ban citizens from 'unfriendly countries' from adopting Russian children, though it did not pass. The appointment came as Ukraine pushed for a major prisoner exchange, highlighting ongoing tensions. Lantratova’s selection raised concerns about the independence of the ombudsman’s office, as critics fear it will now align more closely with state interests rather than advocate for human rights.