Ukraine's Bring Kids Back UA Returns 2,126 Children as CoE Envoy Warns 1.5 Million Remain at Risk
Updated
Updated · Ukrinform · May 8
Ukraine's Bring Kids Back UA Returns 2,126 Children as CoE Envoy Warns 1.5 Million Remain at Risk
15 articles · Updated · Ukrinform · May 8
2,126 Ukrainian children abducted by Russia have been returned through Kyiv's Bring Kids Back UA initiative, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 30.
Mediation has driven most successful returns, Council of Europe envoy Thordis Gylfadottir said, adding there is no genuine sign Russia is willing to send the children back.
1.5 million children still live in temporarily occupied territories, where reliable information on their condition and well-being remains limited.
The envoy said Russia's removals are strategic and systematic, arguing that wider public awareness, coordinated action by international organizations and courts, and reintegration support for returned children are all needed.
Russia is accused of genocide via child abduction. What prevents the world from enforcing their immediate return?
How does Russia’s systematic indoctrination turn abducted Ukrainian children into a resource against their own country?
The Forced Deportation of 20,500+ Ukrainian Children: Global Sanctions, Legal Action, and the Path to Justice
Overview
In May 2026, the European Union took decisive action against Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine, focusing on the forced deportation and indoctrination of over 20,500 Ukrainian children since 2022. The EU adopted its 20th sanctions package, targeting Russia’s energy, finance, and trade sectors, and for the first time activated an anti-circumvention tool to block exports of critical EU goods to third countries used for sanctions evasion. These measures aim to constrain Russia’s war efforts and address the grave breaches of international law caused by the systematic abduction and forced assimilation of Ukrainian children.