Ukraine's Forcibly Displaced Children Must Not Be Bargaining Chips

More than four years have passed since Russia launched its full-scale military campaign against Ukraine, expanding its occupation of Ukrainian territories that began in 2014. In the chaos and violence of the conflict's early months, many families were separated and child care facilities lost contact with central authorities in Kyiv. As a result, occupying forces forcibly transferred over 20,000 Ukrainian children to Russia.

Russian officials claim they are not abducting Ukrainian children but rather “rescuing” them through humanitarian evacuations. However, subsequent international investigations have concluded that many such transfers were illegal under international humanitarian law. In numerous documented cases, transfers were conducted without the consent of the children's parents or legal guardians.

International humanitarian law strictly prohibits any forcible displacement and deportation of protected persons from occupied territory, except for evacuations genuinely necessary to ensure the safety of the population. Even then, evacuations must occur within occupied territory, be temporary, maintain family unity, and return evacuees home as soon as hostilities cease.

The lives of thousands of Ukrainian children have been devastated by this forcible displacement. Instead of complying with international legal obligations and returning them home, Russia has turned this issue into another bargaining chip against the Ukrainian people.

Ukraine refuses to abandon its children. Over the past four years, there have been vigorous efforts by families, non-governmental organizations, and the Ukrainian government to bring them back. A typical case is Lesya — a pseudonym used to protect her identity — who was 15 when Russian forces occupied her village in the Kherson region in 2022. When the occupation authorities issued a mandatory evacuation order, she was loaded onto a truck with over 30 other children and sent to a rehabilitation center in Feodosia, Crimea. The woman accompanying them said her mother would arrive soon.

At this facility, Lesya and other Ukrainian children were forced to follow a strict regime, doing chores and studying in Russian using Russian textbooks. Most of the time, they were kept under supervision indoors, in a building with windows that couldn't be opened. Twice a week, they had to undergo military training.

Eventually, a relative found Lesya, and with help from Save Ukraine, a Ukrainian NGO that facilitates the return of children, her mother brought her back. However, Lesya's case is the exception rather than the rule. More than 2,000 Ukrainian children have been brought home through the efforts of NGOs, governments, and foreign mediators.

Pressure through international organizations has also been applied but has not expedited the repatriation process. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children. In July 2025, the European Court of Human Rights, in the case of Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, found Russia guilty of numerous human rights violations, including the organized removal of children. The court also ordered Russia to cooperate in establishing a mechanism to search for and safely return the children.

In March of this year, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine concluded that Russia's deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children constitutes a crime against humanity. The report found that the removal of Ukrainian children was part of a planned and systematically implemented policy, conceived at the highest levels.

On May 11, the European Union imposed sanctions on 16 individuals and 7 entities, while the UK sanctioned 29 individuals and entities responsible for the deportation, forcible transfer, forced assimilation, brainwashing, militarization, and illegal adoption of Ukrainian children. In total, the EU has sanctioned over 130 individuals and entities for these actions. The US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Switzerland, and several other countries have also adopted similar measures.

The lack of progress on this issue has driven families to despair. Some have tried to bring their children back on their own or through often risky missions by Save Ukraine and five other Ukrainian NGOs. These dangerous missions should not be necessary; under international humanitarian law, Russia is obliged to identify and register Ukrainian children in its care, facilitate family reunification, and allow neutral organizations to support access to Ukrainian children.

As peace negotiations stall and global events push Ukraine off the world headlines, it is urgent to return the issue of abducted Ukrainian children to the spotlight. There are several areas where current efforts can be expanded. First, a comprehensive tracing mechanism must be established and funded to track abducted Ukrainian children and prevent them from disappearing into dispersed care and adoption systems. Second, ongoing legal efforts to bring Russian officials involved in the abductions to justice must be intensified. This includes coordinated prosecutions in countries where universal jurisdiction principles can be applied, as well as joint investigative strategies supported by Eurojust. Ukraine's partners should support its judicial processes against Russian officials and cooperate as needed, including with extraditions where legally applicable. Third, countries can and should fully implement the sanctions, trade restrictions, and other obligations they have already committed to.

While stories of family reunification are heartening, they are a drop in the ocean compared to the number of children who remain separated from their families and are being absorbed into a system of brainwashing and militarization. The issue of returning Ukrainian children cannot be allowed to become yet another bargaining chip for Moscow. Four years is a long time in a child's life. Each passing day further erodes their national identity and deepens the pain of separation as they grow up in a hostile environment. No principle is more universal than the belief that children belong with their parents and loved ones, and Ukrainian children deserve this fundamental right today, not at some point in the future.