A Ukrainian initiative to repatriate abducted children reports that at least 20,570 girls and boys are being held by Russian families and authorities. The Bring Kids Back UA project, launched by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says these are only cases with sufficient data, and the true number is likely much higher.
In March, the UN Human Rights Council's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine found that Russia systematically deported and forcibly transferred Ukrainian children, violating international humanitarian law and constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Russian authorities have stated they 'received' 744,000 children in 2023 and reported to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child that 46,000 Ukrainian children received Russian passports. However, these figures are difficult to verify, and media reports vary widely.
Ukraine's prosecutor general's office says Russian authorities are arranging long-term care for children in Russian families and facilities, violating the right to family reunification under international law. So far, Ukraine has tracked down and brought back 2,126 children.
Project leader Maksym Maksymov described two repatriation mechanisms: mediation (no more than 10 children at a time) and 'organized repatriation' involving civil society groups, though details of the latter are not disclosed. Returned children are disoriented and distrustful of adults, having undergone ideological indoctrination.
After the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for unlawful deportation, Russia changed tactics. It created a multi-layered process in occupied territories involving militarization, indoctrination, 'Russification,' and issuing Russian passports.
An estimated 1.6 million Ukrainian children live in Russian-occupied territory, where Russian schools and paramilitary organizations are prevalent. Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko says children are recruited into youth movements like Yunarmiya, Dvizheniye pervykh, and Voin, where they are trained to use weapons and swear allegiance to Russia.
Andriy Pasternak, head of the Security Service of Ukraine's joint center for POW search and release, says Ukrainian authorities hold prisoners aged 19-20 who were born in Donbas, reeducated, and fought for Russia. 'They are sending Ukrainians to fight Ukrainians,' he said.
In late 2025, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution authorizing Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict to request information, ensure humanitarian access, and secure the safe return of Ukrainian children. The International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, comprising over 40 countries, supports these efforts.
Source: www.dw.com