Ukraine is currently searching for almost 20,000 children who have become victims of illegal deportation and forced transfer to Russia, though the real number could be several times higher, according to Dariya Zarivna, advisor to the Head of the Presidential Office and operational director of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, speaking at a UN Security Council meeting.
The meeting, focused on “Maintaining Peace and Security in Ukraine,” was convened specifically to discuss and draw global attention to Russia’s crimes against children during the war.
“Russian officials systematically refuse to provide information. But to give you an idea, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, boasted about ‘settling’ over 700,000 Ukrainian children in Russia,” Zarivna stated during her presentation.
In a striking example of Russia’s actions, Zarivna presented two birth certificates – one Ukrainian certificate for Margarita Prokopenko and a Russian document for “Marina Mironova” – the same child whose identity was changed after being taken from a Kherson orphanage. The girl was adopted by Russian MP Sergei Mironov’s family.
Ukraine and Canada have established the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, which now includes 41 countries and the Council of Europe. Through the coalition’s joint efforts, 1,022 children have been returned home.
Recent research from Yale University has characterized Russia’s adoption program of deported Ukrainian children as “systematic and widespread,” with researchers identifying 314 children illegally transferred from occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The study, conducted over 20 months, represents the most comprehensive report to date on the scale of Ukrainian child deportations.
According to Zarivna, at least 16 children are killed or wounded weekly in Ukraine due to Russian shelling. Millions of Ukrainians, including minors, have become refugees, while hundreds of thousands of children remain in Russian-controlled territories, beyond the reach of Ukraine and international organizations.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova on suspicion of illegal deportation of children from occupied Ukrainian territories.
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