On 4 June, Ukraine commemorates the children whose lives were taken as a result of the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine.

This is a day of mourning, remembrance and accountability. We remember every Ukrainian child killed by Russian missiles, bombs, artillery strikes, mines, occupation, deportation, torture, violence and other crimes committed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and its people.

For more than twelve years, Ukrainian children have been suffering from Russian aggression. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022, they have become targets of a systematic policy of terror, deportation, forced assimilation, militarisation and erasure of Ukrainian identity.

As a result of the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine, at least 707 Ukrainian children have been killed, 2,548 wounded, and 2,317 are considered missing. More than 20,000 Ukrainian children have been illegally deported or forcibly transferred by Russia. Only 2,212 children have been returned home. These figures are not final, as active hostilities and the temporary occupation of part of Ukraine’s territory make it impossible to establish the full scale of Russia’s crimes against Ukrainian children.

Russia continues to grossly violate international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Its armed forces systematically attack civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, schools, kindergartens, hospitals and energy facilities. Millions of Ukrainian children have been forced to leave their homes and have lost access to safe education, medical care, a stable family environment and a normal childhood.

The illegal deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children remain particularly grave crimes committed by the Russian Federation. Russia conceals information about their whereabouts, changes their personal data, imposes Russian citizenship on them, places them with Russian families and in state institutions, and subjects them to ideological indoctrination, militarisation and forced Russification. These actions are directed not only against individual children and their families, but also against the future of the Ukrainian nation. In March 2026, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine established that the actions of the Russian authorities related to the deportation, forcible transfer and enforced disappearances of Ukrainian children bear the hallmarks of crimes against humanity.

Ukraine is consistently working to ensure the return of every child. Within the framework of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative, and in cooperation with state authorities, civil society and international partners, Ukraine is building a system for the search, return, rehabilitation and reintegration of children affected by Russian aggression.

A key instrument of this work is the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, established under the co-chairmanship of Ukraine and Canada. The Coalition has been joined by 46 states, as well as the European Union, the Council of Europe and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The Coalition unites the efforts of partners in locating children, ensuring their safe return and reintegration, documenting crimes, applying sanctions pressure and holding those responsible to account.

On 11 May 2026, a high-level meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children was held in Brussels, co-organized by Ukraine, Canada and the European Union. Its outcomes included the expansion of the Coalition, new sanctions decisions against individuals and entities involved in the deportation, forced assimilation, indoctrination, militarisation and unlawful adoption of Ukrainian children, as well as new financial contributions from partners in support of the system for the protection, return and reintegration of Ukrainian children.

An important diplomatic step was the adoption by the UN General Assembly, on 4 December 2025, of the resolution “Return of Ukrainian Children”, initiated by Ukraine together with Canada and the European Union. The resolution demands that the Russian Federation immediately, safely and unconditionally return all Ukrainian children, cease the practices of deportation, forcible transfer, unlawful adoption, alteration of personal records and indoctrination, and ensure access for international humanitarian and monitoring organizations to the locations where children are being held.

The resolution also grants the UN Secretary-General an expanded mandate to coordinate the activities of the UN system, engage with the Russian Federation to obtain full information on the whereabouts, condition and legal status of Ukrainian children, ensure UN access to the places where they are being held, and regularly report to Member States on the implementation of the resolution. Ukraine calls upon the United Nations to make full use of this mandate.

Ukraine is also strengthening its national mechanisms for the search and verification of children. Within the framework of the relevant pilot mechanism, 20,570 cases of deportation or forcible transfer of Ukrainian children have been verified, the whereabouts of 1,323 children have been established, additional operationally significant information has been obtained regarding 1,820 children, and 656 new cases of deportation or forcible transfer that had not previously been documented have been identified.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine calls upon the international community to intensify political, diplomatic, sanctions and legal pressure on the Russian Federation with a view to achieving the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all unlawfully deported and forcibly transferred Ukrainian children.

We call upon our partners to step up their support for the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, to join its work, to enhance information sharing, to support search and verification mechanisms, and to fund programmes for the organized return, rehabilitation and long-term reintegration of children.

We also call upon states and international organizations to continue and intensify sanctions against all individuals and entities involved in the unlawful deportation, forcible transfer, militarisation, indoctrination and unlawful adoption of Ukrainian children. Participation in crimes against children must entail inevitable political, legal and economic consequences.

Everyone who made decisions, organized, facilitated or participated in the deportation, forcible transfer, unlawful adoption, alteration of identity, indoctrination or militarisation of Ukrainian children must be brought to justice.

On this day, Ukraine reaffirms its commitment to the principles and norms of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, international humanitarian law, international criminal law and all international legal instruments aimed at protecting children during armed conflict.

Ukrainian children are not a subject of political bargaining. They cannot be an object of compromise. Their return must remain an integral part of every diplomatic effort, every peace initiative and every future discussion on justice and security.

Ukraine expresses its profound gratitude to all states, international organizations, humanitarian partners, civil society representatives and human rights defenders who are helping Ukrainian children, facilitating their return, documenting Russia’s crimes and supporting families affected by the war.

It is our moral and legal obligation to return every Ukrainian child home, restore their rights, help them heal, and ensure that all those who have committed crimes against children are brought to justice.

We remember every child whose life was taken by Russia.

We are fighting for every child Russia is trying to take away from Ukraine.

We will bring every Ukrainian child home.