Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on 17 February that 2,000 Ukrainian children have been brought home from areas under Russian control through the Bring Kids Back UA initiative.
Since the start of its full-scale invasion, Russia has systematically removed Ukrainian children from occupied territories, removing them from their families and transferring them to Russian facilities and families inside Russia. Kyiv describes these actions as unlawful deportations and forced transfers carried out as part of the broader war against Ukraine’s population and identity.
Zelenskyy: Ukraine will not stop "until every child is back"
Zelenskyy thanked Ukrainian citizens, civil society groups, and international partners for their efforts in returning the children. He said the work continues and that many children remain in Russian captivity, “becoming victims of its crimes every day,” but that Ukraine will not stop until every child is back home.
42-country coalition supports repatriation effort
Bring Kids Back UA was launched in 2023 to recover children who were deported or forcibly transferred to Russia during the war. The initiative involves government agencies, civil society organizations, and international partners in locating, repatriating, and supporting children after their return.
The initiative also includes an international coalition established with Canada, now joined by 42 countries, the European Union, and the Council of Europe, as well as a high-level expert group to support the work of returning children.
Tens of thousands still under Russian control
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian children remain under Russian control. Many have been separated from their families, stripped of Ukrainian cultural ties, or subjected to re‑education and assimilation efforts in occupied territories or Russia.
In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights Maria Lvova-Belova over the alleged unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children, which the court classified as a war crime.
