“Navigator,” the man who had ordered the children removed from the church, visited the foster home repeatedly. He would later be identified as Igor Kastyukevich, a member of the Russian Parliament from Putin’s political party, United Russia.
Anna Kuznetsova, deputy speaker of the Russian parliament and Lvova-Belova’s predecessor as children’s rights commissioner, traveled from Moscow to deliver baby products on behalf of the party. “#WeDon’tAbandonOurOwn,” she wrote on Telegram, using a pro-war hashtag to suggest the children belonged in Russia.
In interviews with The Times, Russian officials echoed that view, saying the Kherson children were Russian.
In May, Putin fulfilled his promise to Lvova-Belova by issuing a presidential decree that eased citizenship requirements: in Kherson and other occupied regions, Ukrainian caregivers could now apply for Russian citizenship on behalf of Ukrainian orphans and foster children.
The decree also sped up the process so that children could become Russian citizens in 90 days or less, instead of up to five years.
The following month, Mrs. Korniyenko, director of the shelter home, was summoned by the Ministry of Health in Kherson, now run by the occupation authorities. A Russian-backed official asked her to remain director, but under her supervision. She even offered him a Russian passport.
But Mrs. Korniyenko refused. She had had enough of the occupiers, who she said intimidated staff by asking about her political views in a test of her loyalty and carried weapons while watching the children.
Dr. Lukina also resigned. He cared deeply about the children, but he wanted no role in what Russian-backed officials might do to them.
“I didn’t want to be involved in it,” he said. “And I was afraid they would take me too.”
In search of a new director, the occupation authorities turned to Dr. Tetiana Zavalska, a pediatrician at the foster home who often worked night and weekend shifts. She sympathized with the new occupation administration and made her pro-Russian views clear.