As many as 35,000 Ukrainian children are missing and believed to be held in Russia or areas controlled by Russia, according to experts from Yale University. Families are taking desperate steps to try to bring their children back.
Since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, children have been taken from care homes, battlefields, and even directly from their families. Russia denies demands to return the children and claims Ukraine is “staging a show” about the issue.
One mother, Natalia, shared how she rescued her two sons from a children’s camp in Russia after months of being separated. She traveled alone for six days through checkpoints before reuniting with them.
The Yale team calls this the largest child abduction in war since World War II, comparing it to Nazi Germany’s forced Germanification of Polish children. Only 1,366 children have so far been returned or escaped.
Many children are placed in military camps, foster care, or adopted by Russian families. Rescued children describe being punished for speaking Ukrainian and forced to learn Russian symbols and anthems.
Experts warn that if children are placed in orphanages or adopted, it becomes nearly impossible to bring them back to Ukraine.
The international criminal court agrees these actions are war crimes. In March 2023, it issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and children’s commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.
Ukraine demands the return of all abducted children in any peace talks. Experts say Russia is using the children as bargaining chips in negotiations.
