17/09/2026
In August 2026, Ukraine continued its efforts to return children unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred by Russia, as well as those trapped in temporarily occupied territories, while strengthening international pressure, accountability, reintegration support and global advocacy.
This month, 103 children were returned, bringing the total number of returned children to 2,525.
Key developments in August 2026:
🔹 Lithuania allocated €600,000 to seven Ukrainian NGOs to support the return and rehabilitation of Ukrainian children, assist their families and document war crimes. The projects will cover transportation, temporary accommodation, document preparation, and emergency medical and psychological support.
🔹 New Zealand became the 51st member of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, strengthening international efforts to secure the return of Ukrainian children and increase pressure on Russia.
🔹 At a meeting of Ukraine’s heads of diplomatic missions, the return of Ukrainian children was identified as a foreign policy priority. Diplomats were urged to expand the International Coalition, strengthen support for the UN General Assembly resolution on children’s return and systematically raise the issue in international advocacy.
🔹 On 27 August, Bring Kids Back UA and the Office of the Prosecutor General brought together 50 representatives of law enforcement agencies, civil society, human rights organisations and international partners to strengthen coordination in documenting crimes against Ukrainian children.
🔹 A Ukrainian child listed as missing since 2022 was identified as serving in the Russian armed forces against Ukraine. According to Back to Ukraine, this is the first documented case of a child from Ukraine’s “Children of War” registry identified as fighting in the Russian military.
🔹 Ukraine notified four individuals of suspicion in connection with the deportation of 53 children from three specialised children’s homes in occupied Donetsk and Makiivka to Russia in October 2022. None of the 53 children has returned to Ukraine, while 28 were reportedly placed with Russian families.
🔹 Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights and subject of an ICC arrest warrant, publicly announced the admission of Ukrainian teenager Pylyp Holovnya to a Russian law university. Pylyp was taken from occupied Mariupol in 2022 at age 15, later issued a Russian passport and placed under the guardianship of a Russian official.
🔹 The EU was preparing further sanctions against 27 Russian individuals and entities over alleged involvement in the deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children ahead of the international conference in Toronto on 28–29 September.
🔹 Lithuania’s First Lady Diana Nausėdienė, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and UNITED24 ambassador Katheryn Winnick held separate meetings with Ukrainian children affected by deportation, occupation and return, drawing attention to their experiences and ongoing recovery needs.
🔹 The multimedia exhibition “Field of Memory”, created by the Centre for Contemporary Art DAKh/NGO HoholFest, Bring Kids Back UA and Voices of Children, highlighted the killing, deportation, indoctrination and destruction of Ukrainian children’s identity caused by Russia’s war.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children remain under Russian control.
There can be no just and lasting peace without the return of Ukrainian children.
