The UN General Assembly has demanded that the Russian Federation ensure the immediate, unconditional, and safe return of all Ukrainian children who have been forcibly displaced or deported during its war against Ukraine. This resolution was supported by 91 countries.
The resolution was adopted during the session on December 3.
The document also calls on Russia to urgently cease any further practices of forced displacement, deportation, the separation of children from their families and legal guardians, and altering their personal status, including through citizenship, adoption, or foster care.
In addition to Russia, countries such as Belarus, Iran, Nicaragua, Cuba, Eritrea, Mali, and several others voted against the resolution. 57 countries abstained, including China and India.
The resolution concerning the return of Ukrainian children, which was discussed by the UN General Assembly, emphasizes not a political stance but a moral obligation of the international community to return every child home, highlighted Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Maryana Betza, who represented the document.
"Our children have been killed. Our children have been injured. Our children have suffered torture and rape. Our children have been abducted and deported by Russia, which constitutes a grave violation of international law," said Betza.
The Deputy Minister reminded that as of now, Russia has deported at least 20,000 Ukrainian children. Currently, Ukraine has managed to return over 1,850 of them. Betza noted that the Russian authorities are trying to "erase the identity of Ukrainian children and replace it with hostile propaganda," stripping away the Ukrainian language, literature, and history, banning books, and persecuting teachers and parents. Children are forced to "repeat falsehoods about Ukraine as a Nazi state," while the process of "military training and ideological indoctrination" is carried out even in so-called children's armies.
During the discussion of the project, the President of the UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock emphasized that the deportation of children is a violation of international humanitarian law. She reminded that Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the forced transfer of civilians from occupied territories, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees every child's right to identity, family life, citizenship, and protection from abduction.
What is known about the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia
The President's Commissioner for Children's Rights, Daria Gerasimchuk, previously reported that as of the end of March 2023, the Ukrainian authorities were aware of over 19,500 children having been taken from the temporarily occupied territories to Russia, but it is difficult to ascertain the exact number due to the occupation.
On April 5, 2023, 49 countries issued a joint statement condemning Russia for organizing a Security Council meeting regarding the alleged legal grounds for the abduction of Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories. The United Kingdom blocked the broadcast of the speech by the Russian children's rights commissioner, Lvova-Belova, on UN platforms, calling for her to be held accountable for her actions in court in The Hague.
The Office of the Prosecutor General indicated that there is currently no unified transparent algorithm or mechanism that allows for the return of deported Ukrainian children to Russia.
On March 17, 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of illegal deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children.
On September 23, 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that 1,625 Ukrainian children had been successfully returned to Ukraine.
