New Jean Reno novel explores Russian camps holding Ukrainian children

The book was published by XO Éditions. The story follows Emma, a former massage therapist recruited by France’s external intelligence agency, the DGSE.

She travels undercover to Siberia to infiltrate a so-called “rehabilitation camp” for Ukrainian teenagers and document crimes, including forced detention and ideological indoctrination.

Reno said he was deeply shocked by the scale of the crime but chose to address it through fiction rather than political statements.

“When I heard about this story, I was extremely shocked. I thought it was madness that these children were being abducted for brainwashing,” he said.

Researchers at Yale University found in June last year that Russia may be holding around 35,000 Ukrainian children considered missing. Some have reportedly been adopted by Russian families, while others have been transferred to military camps or placed in boarding institutions.

Ukraine has confirmed the illegal deportation of more than 19,000 children to Russia. Moscow denies the allegations, maintaining that only “hundreds” of children are involved.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in December 2025 that Ukraine has a list of about 500 abducted children, including their locations in Russia. The same month, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding that Russia immediately return all forcibly deported Ukrainian children.

More than 2,100 abducted children have been returned to Ukraine, including 150 since the start of 2026, Zelenskyy said recently.

Efforts to secure the children’s return also involve U.S. first lady Melania Trump, whose team is reportedly engaged in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.