On Monday, May 11, in Brussels, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha participated in the high-level meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, held on the sidelines of the EU Foreign Affairs Council. The event was co-organised by the European Union, Ukraine and Canada.
The meeting was attended by Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, EU Commissioner Marta Kos, senior representatives of Coalition member states and international organisations, as well as Ukraine's international partners. A total of 63 countries were represented, with over two dozen participating at ministerial level.
The meeting was devoted to coordinating international efforts for the return of Ukrainian children unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred by the Russian Federation.
In his address, Andrii Sybiha stated that the return of Ukrainian children must be an integral part of the peace process. The Minister emphasised that the fate of Ukrainian children will never be subject to any compromise. He recalled that Russia had already proposed including children in exchange lists, and stressed that this is unacceptable — as children's freedom is unconditional.
"The Russians are afraid of this topic and try to downplay it. They demand it be removed from the agenda, because they know they are committing a crime and fear justice," he said.
The Foreign Minister drew attention to systemic problems and the insufficient effectiveness of international mechanisms for the return of Ukrainian children unlawfully deported by Russia.
"We have managed to return over two thousand children. But not thanks to international mechanisms — rather, in spite of them. When it comes to actually returning children, it was individual countries that helped — Qatar, the United States, the Holy See and some others, including those present in this room. Our intelligence services and state institutions did the work," Andrii Sybiha stressed.
The Minister called on the European Union to introduce an entry ban for Russian nationals involved in the deportation, indoctrination and illegal adoption of abducted Ukrainian children.
The Foreign Minister emphasised that the international coalition must become an effective mechanism for the return of children. To that end, it is necessary to develop a clear action roadmap, strengthen support for the search, return and reintegration of children, ensure implementation of the UN General Assembly resolution, introduce new sanctions against those responsible for deportations, and secure enforcement of the ICC warrants regarding Putin and Lvova-Belova.
Andrii Sybiha thanked the representatives of Canada and the EU for their comprehensive support and practical assistance in searching for abducted Ukrainian children and in their rehabilitation and reintegration, including through critically important operational support for President of Ukraine's Bring Kids Back UA initiative.
As part of the meeting, Coalition members announced new concrete decisions and contributions. In particular, the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway and the EU introduced new sanctions against dozens of individuals and entities involved in crimes against Ukrainian children.
The EU announced the mobilisation of €50 million to strengthen the child protection system in Ukraine, Lithuania allocated an additional €10 million to counter the forced deportation of children, and Germany contributed €1.4 million for social and psychological assistance. The United Kingdom is directing £1.2 million towards the identification and return of Ukrainian children, while Canada announced a new support package for Ukraine that includes sanctions for violations of Ukrainian children's rights and CAD 3.4 million for the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Poland also announced the allocation of nearly €10 million in support of Ukrainian refugees.
Slovenia, Croatia and Georgia announced the development of rehabilitation programmes for returned Ukrainian children, as well as the organisation of their recuperation and recreation at summer camps.
Additional information: as of May 2026, over 20,570 cases of deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children have been documented. At the same time, over 2,129 children have already been returned to Ukraine. According to available estimates, approximately 1.6 million Ukrainian children remain under Russian control in the temporarily occupied territories or have been deported.