On 4 June, Ukraine commemorates the memory of children whose lives were cut short as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

This day is one of mourning, remembrance, and responsibility. We honor every Ukrainian child who was killed by Russian missiles, bombs, artillery shelling, 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 suffered from Russia’s aggression. Since the launch of the full-scale invasion in 2022, they have become targets of a systematic policy of terror, deportation, forced assimilation, militarization, and the 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 injured, and 2,317 remain missing. More than 20,000 Ukrainian children have been unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred by Russia. Only 2,212 children have been returned home. These figures are not final, as ongoing hostilities and the temporary occupation of part of Ukraine’s territory prevent a full assessment of the 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 target 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, healthcare, a stable family environment, and a normal childhood.

Particularly grave is the ongoing crime of the unlawful deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children. Russia conceals information about their whereabouts, changes their personal data, imposes Russian citizenship, places children in Russian families and state institutions, and subjects them to indoctrination, militarization, 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 Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine concluded that actions by the Russian authorities involving the deportation, forced transfer, and enforced disappearance of Ukrainian children constitute grounds to determine crimes against humanity.

Ukraine remains committed to securing the return of every child. Through the President of Ukraine’s initiative Bring Kids Back UA, and in cooperation with state institutions, civil society, and international partners, Ukraine continues to develop mechanisms for locating, returning, rehabilitating, and reintegrating children affected by Russian aggression.

An important instrument in these efforts is the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, co-chaired by Ukraine and Canada. The Coalition includes 46 states, as well as the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. It coordinates international efforts related to tracing children, ensuring their safe return, supporting reintegration, documenting crimes, strengthening sanctions, and promoting accountability.

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. The meeting resulted in the expansion of the Coalition, new sanctions against individuals and entities involved in deportation, forced assimilation, indoctrination, militarization, and the unlawful adoption of Ukrainian children, as well as additional financial contributions to support protection, return, and reintegration programmes.

An important diplomatic achievement was the adoption, on 4 December 2025, of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution “The 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 and cease practices of deportation, forced transfer, unlawful adoption, alteration of personal identities, and indoctrination. It also calls for access by international humanitarian and monitoring organizations to locations where children are being held.

The Resolution further grants the United Nations Secretary-General an enhanced mandate to coordinate the UN system’s efforts, engage with the Russian Federation to obtain comprehensive information on the whereabouts, condition, and legal status of Ukrainian children, ensure UN access to places where they are held, and regularly report to Member States on the implementation of the Resolution. Ukraine calls upon the United Nations to fully utilize this mandate.

Ukraine is also strengthening national mechanisms for tracing and verifying cases involving children. Within the framework of a dedicated pilot mechanism, 20,570 cases of deportation or forced transfer 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 previously undocumented cases of deportation or forced transfer have been identified.

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

We urge partners to strengthen support for the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, contribute to its work, enhance information-sharing, support tracing and verification mechanisms, and provide funding for organized return, rehabilitation, and long-term reintegration programmes.

We also call on states and international organizations to maintain and strengthen sanctions against all individuals and entities involved in the unlawful deportation, forced transfer, militarization, indoctrination, and unlawful adoption of Ukrainian children. Participation in crimes against children must entail unavoidable political, legal, and economic consequences.

All those who made decisions, organized, facilitated, or participated in the deportation, forced transfer, unlawful adoption, identity alteration, indoctrination, or militarization of Ukrainian children must be held accountable.

On this day, Ukraine reaffirms its commitment to the principles and provisions 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 in armed conflict.

Ukrainian children are not subjects of political bargaining. They cannot be objects 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 deep gratitude to all states, international organizations, humanitarian partners, representatives of civil society, and human rights defenders who assist Ukrainian children, contribute to their return, document Russia’s crimes, and support families affected by the war.

It is our moral and legal duty to bring every Ukrainian child home, restore their rights, help them heal, and ensure justice for all those who committed crimes against children.

We remember every child whose life was taken by Russia.

We continue to fight for every child whom Russia seeks to take away from Ukraine.

We will bring every Ukrainian child home.