Liev Schreiber on Ukraine’s abducted children: ‘Being a new father is a reminder of how important it is’
At a recent UN Security Council meeting, Liev Schreiber listened as three young Ukrainian children recounted the unimaginable horrors of being abducted by Russian soldiers. He describes them as three of the bravest people he has ever met.
Since the start of the war, about 20,000 children have been taken without the consent of family or guardians, according to Ukrainian officials. They say fewer than 400 have returned home.
“There are horrendous war crimes occurring in Ukraine but I don’t think there’s anything quite so awful as a child’s right to a childhood, more than anything to not be separated from their parents, being taken away,” says Schreiber, speaking to Sky News on the phone from New York.
Schreiber addressed the UN meeting in February. Pic: Gina LeVay Photography/Builders Ukraine
“Ukrainian children are being abducted into Russia and Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories and [being put] in these indoctrination programmes, where they are trying to convince them their parents don’t love them, their parents are in many cases dead or gone, and that Ukraine is not their home, Russia is their home.”
In December 2022, Sky News obtained and broadcast CCTV footage of Russian soldiers actively searching for children in an orphanage in Kherson, southern Ukraine. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s president Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.
The Russians have claimed they are saving children from war for humanitarian reasons.
Best known for his on screen portrayal of LA fixer Ray Donovan, as well his performances in the X-Men and Scream film series, and the Oscar-winning Spotlight, some might wonder what Schreiber’s role in this fight is. But since the start of the war, the star, whose grandfather was a Polish-Ukrainian immigrant, has been doing everything in his power to help Ukraine.
He is the co-founder of BlueCheck, a crisis response organisation set up just weeks after Russia’s invasion to raise funds for humanitarian aid, and is also an ambassador for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s United24, and the chair of Builders Ukraine.
The actor visited the town of Borodianka in the Kyiv region in August 2022. Pic: Reuters
Such is his involvement, he was asked to make the opening remarks at last month’s UN meeting, ahead of the three children; Sasha, 13, Kira, 14, and 11-year-old Ilya. According to Builders Ukraine, the three were abducted by Russian forces during the siege on Mariupol in the early days of the war. Their parents were killed or captured.
Hearing them speak was “incredibly moving”, says Schreiber.
“At one point, one of the boys, Sasha, was asked, ‘If the whole world were listening, is there anything you would like to say?’ I felt like that was going to be a set-up for something political that Sasha had been told to say. And he just knocked the wind out of me and everybody else in the room by saying, ‘Well, if the whole world was listening, I would like to ask them to help me find my mom’. His mom has been missing for two years.
“I don’t know how to say it, but certainly as a father that brought it home for me, the situation.”
Read more:
Ukraine’s missing children
Mother tricked into sending daughter to ‘indoctrination’ camp
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Dec 2022: Liev Schreiber on his fundraising for Ukraine
Ilya’s mother was killed and the little boy’s leg was injured by shrapnel, the meeting heard, while Sasha almost lost one of his eyes during an attack. “Horrible, horrible stories,” says Schreiber. “And yet the pragmatism, of a kid just wanting to find his mom.
“People do go on and they gather themselves and they rally, and that’s what’s happening in Ukraine. And they’ve been doing that for two years, for the most part on their own.”
The actor, who welcomed his third child, a baby girl called Hazel, last year, is talking to me in between rehearsals and showtime for Doubt, which he is currently performing in on Broadway.
Schreiber is known for portraying the titular character in Ray Donovan. Pic: Showtime/ Sky UK
His recent on-screen performances include playing Anne Frank’s father Otto Frank in the mini-series A Small Light, and Henry Kissinger in the Helen Mirren film Golda, about the first female prime minister of Israel. He says he is thinking about his acting roles more now as he concentrates on raising a baby and his work for Ukraine.
“I think I have been taking a little bit of time off because there are so many other things that I want to do and to be able to do what I can for BlueCheck, United24 and Builders Ukraine, I think for me, it’s the right thing to do now,” he says. “Being a new father is hard work, but it’s also just confirmation of how important all of this stuff is. It’s just a reminder of how important it is that we leave the world a better place than when we came into it, for our children, our children’s children.
“Part of me is, you know, giving a lot of gratitude towards my grandparents and that generation for everything they did so that I could have the opportunities, the freedoms that I enjoy. I just would like to make sure that my children, and children like Kira, Ilya and Sasha, can experience that as well in their lifetimes.”
Towards the end of 2023, during an expedition trip to Antarctica he had been planning for several years, Schreiber had a serendipitous encounter; in the harbour of King George Island, thousands of miles from home and even further from Ukraine, he noticed a ship bearing the country’s blue shield and yellow trident coat of arms.
It was the Ukrainian research ship Noosfera, which had set off from the city of Odesa in January 2022, just weeks before the war broke out. Schreiber was invited on board. “I just told them how lovely it was to see the Ukrainian colours flying in Antarctica,” he says. “A reminder of how strong we are together.”
On board Noosfera with Captain Oleksandr Gryshko. Pic: National Antarctic Scientific Centre of Ukraine
Two years on from Russia’s invasion, Schreiber hopes to keep Ukraine in people’s minds.
“I feel just as human beings, we should be responding; as freedom-loving people, I think absolutely we should be responding. If not for their sake, for our sake as well. Because I do believe that in many respects, the Ukrainians are holding our line. In other words, the line of democracy and freedom and sovereignty is something that we share as nations with them, and if it falls in Ukraine, it can fall anywhere.”
World
‘Have the meeting now!’: Trump says Ukraine should ‘immediately’ agree to direct talks with Russia
US President Donald Trump has demanded that Ukraine should “immediately” agree to direct talks with Russia in a bid to end the war.
It comes after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his team were “ready to meet” Russian representatives following Vladimir Putin suggestion of peace talks, subject to an unconditional ceasefire starting on Monday.
Russia‘s president put forward the proposal for talks in Istanbul on Thursday after European leaders including Sir Keir Starmer threatened him with fresh sanctions if Russia failed to comply with an unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting on Monday.
Analysis:
Why calls for Ukraine talks are likely a delaying tactic from Putin
However, in a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Mr Trump said he was “starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin”.
He urged them to accept the meeting invitation “immediately”, adding “have the meeting now”.
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Putin’s call for peace talks genuine?
Mr Trump wrote: “President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath.
“Ukraine should agree to this, immediately. At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the US will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly.
“I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War ll, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America.
“Have the meeting now!”
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Kremlin: ‘We don’t share Starmer’s view’
Shortly after Mr Trump’s post, Mr Zelenskyy posted on X saying: “We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy.
“There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses.”
When Mr Putin first suggested the talks, Mr Trump hailed it “a potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine” and said he would “work with both sides to make sure it happens”.
Read more from Sky News:
Pope Leo calls for Ukraine peace
Michael Clarke Q&A on Ukraine war
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said he “fully supported” Mr Putin’s proposal and was ready to host the talks, after the two leaders spoke over the phone on Sunday.
But security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Matt Barbet there is a “long way between now and Thursday” and a “fair bit of brinkmanship” going on.
He said even if the talks do go ahead, “the chances are they’ll extend over a long period and there won’t be a ceasefire as a result of them, and the Russians will keep playing this out”.
European leaders hold call with Mr Trump. Pic: Number 10
Mr Putin’s counteroffer of talks came after Sir Keir, Mr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, recently elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met in Kyiv.
The leaders said they had secured Mr Trump’s backing after briefing him on the progress made on the so-called “coalition of the willing” plans in a 20-minute phone call.
World
Terror group supporters posted on TikTok, YouTube and Google from site targeted in Indian airstrikes
Social media accounts expressing support for a Pakistan-based terror group linked to al Qaeda appear to have posted recent videos from a Pakistan mosque targeted by Indian airstrikes.
Sky News has found videos posted on TikTok, YouTube and Google that appear to be filmed at the Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke. The captions and usernames contain expressions of support for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and a group called ‘313’.
Sky News has found and geolocated multiple videos that appear to be filmed in the area where the captions include either or both ‘313’ and LeT.
Some of the videos show men in the streets with guns. Another post captioned a video of children doing martial arts training inside the targeted mosque, “we are little soldiers, and we fight the non-believers”.
The caption of the video reads ‘we are little soldiers, and we fight the non-believers’. It uses the hashtag ‘313’.
The caption uses the hashtag #جہاد313, which translates to ‘313’ jihad.
‘313’ appears to refer to the 313 Brigade, a proscribed terror organisation in Pakistan.
In a TikTok video posted to the Google page for Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke, a man can be seen walking along the street with a gun.
The account that posted that video wrote in their description, “Lashkar Taiba, Mujahid Force, ‘313’ and Markaz Taiba Muridke”, self-proclaiming their support for the groups.
This screenshot from the Google user labels Lashkar-e-Taiba and ‘313’ and includes the location name Muridke
India’s retaliatory strikes on Pakistani-adminstered Kashmir and Pakistan on 7 May came after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.
Gunmen opened fire on tourists, killing 26 people and injuring dozens in a popular holiday spot near Pahalgam, Kashmir, on 22 April.
LeT were accused by India of involvement in the Pahalgam attack through their proxy the Resistance Front, which claimed responsibility for the attack.
LeT, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN Security Council and the UK, focuses on fighting Indian control in Kashmir and is based in the Punjab region of Pakistan.
Pakistan denies allegations of terror camps operating in the country. This region has been in the control of the Punjabi government since 2010. The Punjab government condemned the Indian strikes, and declared a state of emergency across Punjab.
Muskan Sangwan, senior intelligence analyst at TRAC, a terrorism research and analysis consortium, told Sky News: “Brigade 313 is al Qaeda in Pakistan. It’s an umbrella organisation for members of several groups like Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Haqqat ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Jaish-e Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Jundullah.”
Ms Sangwan explained that ‘313’ refers to the number of companions said to have fought with the Prophet Mohammed in the Battle of Badr.
TRAC have seen a recent uptick in TikTok videos and other social media posts that refer to ‘313’.
Many of the accounts are linked to each other.
Ms Sangwan said: “They [the TikTok users] mostly use ‘313’ as a hashtag… trying to push that hashtag to as many people it can reach on social media.”
Sky News sought to verify the location by comparing before and after videos from the strike location, and using the video released by the Indian army conducting the strike.
One video showing damage at the strike location was posted by a user with 313 in their TikTok username.
The TikTok account that posted video footage of the destruction in Muridke has 313 in the username
Below is satellite imagery that shows the destruction of the site.
Satellite imagery shows Markaz Taiba Mosque after the strike on 7 May. Credit: Maxar
In one TikTok, the video is captioned “bring your arms and ammunition and go to war”. The text on the screen of the TikTok is ‘313’ and he is carrying a gun.
The group are comfortable with having an online presence. On the Google tag for Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke, men pose for a group photo. Almost all the people in the photo have used ‘313’ on TikTok.
Ms Sangwan explained: “With these people from Muridke, pushing this propaganda on social media would generate a lot of significance in terms of recruitment and in terms of gaining support from local people and from other people.”
Sky News’ Asia correspondent Cordelia Lynch has reported on the ground in Muridke.
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Anger in Pakistan after India strikes
India says it struck Markaz Taiba, a site in Muridke about 15 miles (25km) from the border, which has long been claimed to be a terrorist training site associated with LeT.
MEMRI, a US-based research group that monitors terrorist threats, told Sky News: “It has been known for decades that Lashkar-e-Taiba has its headquarters in Muridke.”
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Sky News contacted the Pakistan Ministry of Defence for comment. Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s defence minister, told Sky News: “This appears to be a random video with background music added later – consistent with how TikTok trends often function. If this is to be considered credible evidence, we could produce millions of similar clips ourselves.”
Mr Asif also said that any suggestion that the mosque was used as a base by terrorists was a “completely false, social media made up hoax”.
On 7 May, after the strikes in Pakistan, the Indian subcontinent branch of al Qaeda issued a statement condemning India’s actions and encouraging its supporters to wage jihad against India.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country is “ready to meet” Russian representatives after Vladimir Putin suggested peace talks in Istanbul from Thursday.
Russia‘s president put forward the proposal as European leaders including Sir Keir Starmer threatened him with fresh sanctions if Russia failed to comply with an unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting on Monday.
Reacting to Mr Putin’s suggestion, US President Donald Trump said it was “a potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine” and he would “work with both sides to make sure it happens”.
Mr Zelenskyy has also welcomed the proposal, but reiterated his call for a ceasefire.
He said: “It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war. The entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire.
“There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire – full, lasting, and reliable – starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet.”
On Saturday, the prime minister met the Ukrainian president alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Kyiv.
Announcing the 30-day ceasefire proposal, the leaders said they had secured the backing of Mr Trump after briefing him on the progress made on the so-called “coalition of the willing” plans in a 20-minute phone call.
What Trump does next is crucial
Russian President Vladimir Putin is playing for time and may have been caught on the hop by European leaders, backed by US President Donald Trump, demanding a 30-day ceasefire during their visit to Kyiv yesterday.
Russia’s proposal of talks in Istanbul on Thursday appears hurriedly conceived, announced as it was in the early hours of the morning by Putin.
There is an added symbolism to his suggestion of Istanbul as a venue. Russia has long blamed Ukraine for walking away from peace talks in the same city in 2022.
The key thing is that diplomatic movement of sorts is happening.
Ukraine and its European colleagues want to capitalise on Trump’s renewed enthusiasm for a ceasefire and his potential scepticism of how ready Putin actually is to make peace.
The Europeans will hope this isn’t drawn into a protracted period of negotiations, or simply talking about the idea of negotiations.
What President Trump does next will be crucial.
Speaking at the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday, Mr Putin did not directly address the proposal but instead offered to restart peace talks Russia and Ukraine held in 2022.
“We propose the Kyiv authorities resume the negotiations they interrupted at the end of 2022… to resume direct negotiations… without any preconditions… to begin without delay next Thursday 15 May in Istanbul,” he said.
Speaking to Sky News Russia correspondent Ivor Bennett after the statement, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow does not “share the view of Starmer”.
“We think that the seriousness is to propose negotiations,” he said, denying the move was a delaying tactic.
Mr Peskov said there had to be negotiations to find a way for a ceasefire, adding: “A simplistic approach to a ceasefire is inappropriate.”
European leaders including Volodymyr Zelenskyy hold call with Donald Trump. Pic: Number 10
Russia’s own unilateral three-day ceasefire, declared for the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, expired on Saturday, and Ukraine said Russian forces have repeatedly violated it.
After the summit in Kyiv, Sir Keir said: “All of us here, together with the US, are calling Putin out.
“So we are clear, all five leaders here – all the leaders of the meeting we just had with the coalition of the willing – an unconditional ceasefire, rejecting Putin’s conditions, and clear that if he turns his back on peace, we will respond.
“Working with President Trump, with all our partners, we will ramp up sanctions and increase our military aid for Ukraine’s defence to pressure Russia back to the table.”
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During Mr Putin’s statement on Sunday, he insisted he would support peace talks, adding: “We are committed to serious negotiations with Ukraine.”
He told reporters: “Their purpose is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict, to establish a long-term, lasting peace.
“We do not rule out that during these negotiations it will be possible to agree on some new truces, a new ceasefire.”
Read more:
Will Trump force Putin to comply with ceasefire?
Russia’s VE Day parade felt like celebration of war
Michael Clarke Q&A on Ukraine war
Ukraine and Russia argue over ceasefire breaches
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Responding to Mr Putin’s proposal, Mr Macron said the Russian leader was “looking for a way forward, but he still has a desire to buy time”.
Mr Putin’s proposed negotiations are “a first step, but they are not sufficient,” he told French broadcaster BFM.
“An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations, by definition.”
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