The UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted a significant increase in serious violations of children's rights in Ukraine due to the aggression from the Russian Federation, re-adding the Russian army to the «shame list».

This information is included in Guterres's annual report titled «Children and Armed Conflict», presented at a UN Security Council meeting by Virginia Gamba, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict.

The highest increases in such violations were recorded in Lebanon (545%), Mozambique (525%), Haiti (490%), and Ethiopia (235%). In Ukraine, the increase stands at 105%.

«I am deeply concerned about the sharp rise in serious violations against children in Ukraine, including killings and maiming of children, as well as attacks on schools and hospitals,» stated the Secretary-General in the section dedicated to Ukraine.

During the reporting period (2024–2025), the UN documented the killing of 94 and injuring of 577 children. Responsibility for these acts «is attributed to the Russian armed forces and associated groups,» the report states. It also recorded 559 attacks on schools and 303 on hospitals.

The document confirms that many Ukrainian children taken to Russia are still missing.

«I strongly urge the Russian Federation to cooperate with the UN for the return of Ukrainian children and their reunification with families and/or guardians,» Guterres stated.

In light of these findings, the Russian Armed Forces have been officially included again in the list of state structures that systematically violate children's rights (the so-called «shame list»). This list also includes the DRC, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, and several other countries and regimes.

Ukraine's permanent representative to the UN, Andrii Melnyk, has called on the Security Council to impose sanctions against states and individuals responsible for serious violations of children's rights during armed conflicts.