Children of War. Norwegian benefactors fund foundations supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine  

- Could you please tell us how you ended up here and why you came to "Vårsol"?

- We were taken because there was a war there. And we came here because they help children in difficult situations.

- Who were you living with at that time?

- With my mum and dad.

- Who are you living with [now], who is it?

- Godparents…

- But I want to ask you, how are you doing?

- Fine, very well...

An elderly Norwegian is talking through a translator with two girls. The man is constantly smiling, while the girls have stony faces. This does not bother their interlocutor. He does not question where the girls' parents have gone. Either he knows the answer but does not want it to be mentioned in the video posted on his Facebook page: the children became orphans due to Russia' war against Ukraine.

The girls are called Sonya and Zhenya, they are from Donetsk, and now live in the Leningrad region. The smiling man is a Norwegian named Steinar Harila. He has been engaged in charitable activities in Russia for many years, impressive in its scale.

Harila was born in the north of Norway, in Vadsø. As stated on a stand in the children's camp "Vårsol", little Steinar was among the people saved by the Soviet army during the liberation of Eastern Finnmark in 1944. This touched him so much that he vowed to "thank the Russian people for saving his family". This aspiration resulted in the charity work that Steinar Harila has been doing in Russia since the 1990s.

Charity is largely based on religion: Steinar Harila is a very devout Christian. Over the past years, he and his like-minded associates have managed to raise hundreds of millions of kroner for various social initiatives. The report of the foundation he leads, "Hope" (Harilastiftelsen HÅP), lists numerous projects supported by the evangelist.

Among them is an entire village for large families in the settlement of Taytsy, Leningrad Region. It is called Vårsol - "Spring Sun" if translated from Norwegian. It consists of several multi-family cottages, as well as a Meeting House with a conference hall. It is there that Sonya and Zhenya, who were taken from Russian-occupied Donetsk in 2022, have been living for three years.

The conversation with the Ukrainian girls was published by Steinar Harila on his Facebook page at the end of May. He came to the Leningrad Region with like-minded people from Norway to meet with the wards of his charitable organisation. At the same time, he decided to expose the "lie" that Ukrainian children are being held in Russia against their will; at least, this is how he explained the purpose of recording and publishing the video.

The director of the Vårsol centre, a translator, and a man who introduced himself as Andrei are also involved in the conversation. He calls himself the godfather and guardian of the girls.

We have known them since childhood, since they were in nappies. They are like family to us, like children. We came here, arranged guardianship here. We are being helped, you are helping, guardianship is helping, Valeria (the centre's director - Ed.) is helping. We all work, we manage,”

the man says.

His wife, Marina Drozdova, told the Barents Observer that Sonya and Zhenya lost their father back in 2018. According to her, he was a militiaman (that is, a separatist) and was killed in battle. The girls' mother died in 2022, after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. As Drozdova says, Sonya and Zhenya went for a walk when a missile hit their home and killed their mother. Drozdova did not specify when exactly this happened.

“The whole family - brothers, sisters, all relatives - they are all dead... The girls were taken into care, but Sonya reported that their godmother lives in Russia, guardianship called. We took the children here immediately,” Drozdova reported.

The woman considers Donetsk a Russian city “It always has been," she wrongfully claims and clearly supports Russian aggression. She herself also fled the war during the first phase of the Russian invasion, at the beginning of the hostilities in Donbas. Relatives lived just in “Vårsol”, and now her family lives there too.

War orphans

The Geneva Convention prohibits the transfer of persons from occupied territory to the territory of the aggressor country. This same rule is stipulated in Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the ICC. An exception is an urgent evacuation, but even in this case, subsequent return must be guaranteed. Changing the civil status of children is also illegal. The leader of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the Commissioner for Children's Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, are wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague precisely for the abduction of Ukrainian children.

Stefania Kulaeva, an expert from the Anti-Discrimination Centre “Memorial”, believes that this case does not quite fit the "abduction of children".

“I would classify this case as "children taken from Ukraine to Russia by close people".

The godparents are now guardians and legal representatives; they actually saved the children from the Donetsk orphanage, from where they would also most likely have been taken to Russia, where they would probably have been given to completely strangers (or kept in an institution - which is even more frightening).

I see two tragedies and problems here. First: the Russian Federation is to blame for the orphanhood of these children, they are war orphans. This is especially evident in the case of the mother's death in 2022, although those who died in the first stage of the war - Donetsk victims since 2014 - all died because of Russia, which started all this back then,"  

Kulaeva says.

"The second problem is the removal to Russia, even by close people (the very fact of children being taken into custody by a family that has known them all their lives, loves them - this cannot but be accepted as a good option). We at ADC "Memorial" are dealing with this very topic. If "abducted", that is, taken against the will of parents or legal guardians, there were thousands of children, then hundreds of thousands ended up in the Russian Federation by the will of responsible adults, sometimes parents, sometimes other people - grandmothers, aunts, guardians."

These children are also victims of indoctrination, propaganda, militarisation,"

Kulaeva explains.

"Their Ukrainian origin is denied (in the worst cases they are also discriminated against). I consider it a violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to educate these children only in Russian, to impose on them a false identity, hatred of Ukraine, militarisation of their young minds.”

“You and I are destined to serve Russia”

One might assume that in a fund financed by Norwegian philanthropists, war propaganda to Ukrainian children would not be a threat. Especially since it is constantly emphasised in social media and various publications that the activities of Steinar Harila and his funds remain “apolitical”.

However, reality somewhat differs from the programmatic statements. The “apolitical” fund organises propaganda events. In May 2024, residents of the village were invited to a concert in honour of Victory Day. The event took place in the Vårsol concert hall and, as the announcement stated, was held “for the purpose of patriotic education of the youth”.

The concert began with children in military uniforms taking the stage, waving Russian flags and performing the anthem of the “Yunarmiya” - the militaristic youth organisation under the control of the Russian state.

“It is destined for you and me to serve Russia,

To serve Russia, a wonderful country,

Where a new sun rises in the blue sky.

Russian troops march shoulder to shoulder,

And even though the military road is not easy,

We will serve Russia with faith and truth.”

Other songs in praise of Russian arms followed:

“Soldiers of Russia,

Sergeant, general,

You are like saints

In military affairs,”

- sounded from the stage of the Vårsol concert hall.

The director of the foundation, Valeria Alexandrova, judging by her social media, is a supporter of the Russian invasion. In August 2022, she published a post in which opponents of the war are called “hamsters who are supposedly crying over people's lives,” and the Ukrainian government is called fascist. In May 2022, Alexandrova published a photograph of a Russian soldier with the caption: “Our Tyomushka [shortened, informal for Artyom] 29.01.1998-07.05.2022. Awarded the Order of Courage posthumously.” We were unable to establish who this person is or what relation he has to the director of the charitable foundation - Valeria Alexandrova refused to communicate.

 Warm socks to soldiers 

If Vårsol supports the Russian army with words, then the organisation “Lada”, also existing thanks to donations from Steinar Harila's fund, helped the soldiers with actions.

“Lada” is located in the village of Sovetsky in the Leningrad region and, according to information from the official page on “VKontakte”, carries out “charitable activities based on the principles of Christian faith and love for one's neighbour with the aim of protecting family and childhood, improving the quality of life of socially disadvantaged people”. “Lada” collects humanitarian aid for the needy, organises leisure activities for the elderly, and has repeatedly supported Russian army soldiers.

“Winter is coming, and the members of the "Lada" club decided that warm socks for the guys in the SVO zone will not be superfluous at all. So, at their "gatherings", they took up a useful task: unravelling unnecessary knitted woollen items to knit socks for SVO participants from the resulting yarn. And any homemade items made with love, as you know, not only warm the body but also the soul, and this warmth is worth its weight in gold,” said a post on the official page of the “Lada” fund (the publication has now been deleted).

SVO is the Russian abbreviation for Special Military Operation, the used in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the war.

In the autumn of 2024, the organisation, funded by Norwegian philanthropists, transferred 50 thousand roubles to improve the living conditions of Russian soldiers. This was reported on social media by the SOV47 movement, which helps soldiers on the front line.

The fund also assisted the families of Russian soldiers, although they can hardly be considered low-income, given the payments for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defence (in the Leningrad region they now exceed two million roubles) and the salaries of Russian military personnel on the battle fields.

The "Lada" fund maintains friendships with people and organisations supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine. For example, it collaborates with the Vyborg Diocese, which actively supports the Russian army, and its priests literally bless tanks. In August 2023, the fund's page published a certificate from the border service, which is part of the FSB structure. The organisation was thanked for a "colourful, unforgettable concert" dedicated to Defender of the Fatherland Day.

The director of the "Lada" fund is Olga Mironova. She worked in the field of education and was also a deputy in the local council from United Russia, the ruling political party. When we called her for a comment, she immediately stated that her organisation is apolitical.

- This is the most important condition. The Norwegian charitable foundation, and the charitable foundation that I head, we do not engage in any political issues, - said Mironova.

- But you transferred money to the Russian army?

- We provide assistance to people in need. We did not specifically transfer money to the Russian army. 

- The SOV47 movement says you transferred 50,000 roubles to the front line.

- Actually, it was a bit different, and we did not help the Russian army. We specifically helped a woman who later became a volunteer for this organisation. And she highlighted us as a source of information that we helped the residents of Donbas.

- Here is the 2024 news that 50,000 roubles from your organisation were used to buy some heaters for the soldiers, and the “Lada” club sewed socks for the soldiers, and this information is in your group.

- Well, again, for the residents. I don't think the army needs socks…

- Look: “Winter is coming, and the members of the 'Lada' club decided that warm socks for the guys in the SVO zone would not be superfluous at all...” This is published in your group.

- Well, grandmothers are grandmothers... Specifically, the grandmothers who visit our foundation, who, let's say, are lonely, elderly, aged... And we really collected a lot for the children. And the grandmothers expressed a desire to make these socks for the residents.

- “For participants of the SVO” it says here.

- Well, listen, honestly, I don't personally run this site. We have neither an expense item nor any specific assistance for the army. This is not even considered because in the charter of our organisation - not only are we interfaith, but we also do not engage in this very politics.

But since our village is, in principle, very small, and everyone who contacts us may in some way be connected with this special military operation, I allow the thought that people who come to us and who in some way turn to us for help may be volunteers in this area, - stated Olga Mironova.

Shortly after we called, publications about how the Lada Foundation helped the Russian army disappeared from social media or were altered. For example, the pro-military movement SOV47 removed the mention of the foundation from its post about socks for the military.

The Lada Foundation is funded directly from Norway, said Olga Mironova. She did not specify how this is possible under sanctions but noted that the process is very complex. Presumably, Vårsol is maintained in the same way, but Barents Observer could not get an answer to this question: Vårsol director Valeria Aleksandrova refused to speak with the journalist.

Barents Observer sent a request to Steinar Harila. He did not want to discuss the activities of the funds under his control substantively, instead sending several pages of Bible quotes.

“I will not answer any of your questions,” explained Steinar Harila. “If I did, I would immediately engage in a political discussion. This does not open up the opportunity to preach the message of forgiveness of sins to everyone who receives it... This message came to me once. I accepted Jesus, and all my sins, mistakes, and shortcomings were forgiven.”