Return Ukraine’s Children
Your one place for current statistics, advocacy materials, and calls to action — everything UNWLA members need to speak up for Ukrainian children every day.
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The russian genocidal war on Ukraine has wrought devastating destruction, poisoned Ukrainian farmland, and taken an appalling toll in killed and injured people. Among its gravest crimes is the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to russia. While UNWLA is doing everything possible to provide medical and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, our key mission remains support for Ukrainian women and children.
In 2023, as thousands of cases of illegal deportation were confirmed, UNWLA launched the “Return Ukraine’s Children” initiative. It equips UNWLA members and the broader community with the tools, materials, and current information they need to build successful local advocacy for Ukrainian children, year round.
Through the initiative, we raise awareness among Americans and advocate for the recognition of the russian government’s responsibility for the crimes against Ukrainian children, which fall under the definition of genocide. Every child must come home. Every person responsible must be held accountable.
Ukrainian children affected by russia’s war
As of November 6, 2026, per the Children of War Portal (Government of Ukraine), citing the Office of the Prosecutor General, the National Police of Ukraine, and Bring Kids Back UA; see also Forget Us Not. Children under occupation: UNRIC (December 2025). Displacement and schooling: UNICEF (February 2026). Educational facilities: The Lancet (July 2026). Russian open-source data reports some 744,000 children taken — a figure impossible to independently verify.
However, there is more to do!
Currently, we are gathering co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives for H.R. 10473 — the Justice for Ukrainian Children Act.
Introduced on September 16, 2026 with bipartisan support, the bill authorizes not less than $15 million a year for fiscal years 2027–2032 to collect and preserve evidence of russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children, and to locate, rescue and rehabilitate the children. It also provides for sanctions against those responsible. Evidence today means accountability tomorrow — and children brought home.
Please call and email the office of your U.S. Representative today. Here are comprehensive instructions to follow and share with your network.
Also keep asking for support of H.Res. 564 and S.Res. 236, which demand that all Ukrainian children abducted by russia be returned before any peace deal is finalized.
- Find your Representativecongress.gov/find-your-member
- Check if they co-sponsor H.R. 10473See the current co-sponsor list
- Call, email — or thank themStep-by-step how-to
- Go publicWrite a Letter to the Editor
Where things stand in Congress
H.R. 10473 — Justice for Ukrainian Children Act
Authorizes not less than $15 million a year for fiscal years 2027–2032 to collect and preserve evidence of russia’s abduction and transfer of Ukrainian children, and to locate, rescue and rehabilitate abducted children. Also includes sanctions regarding the unlawful transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children.
Introduced September 16, 2026 by Rep. Walkinshaw, with bipartisan original cosponsors including Reps. Bacon, Landsman and Fitzpatrick. In the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and the Judiciary.H.Res. 564
Calling for the return of abducted Ukrainian children before finalizing any peace agreement to end the war against Ukraine.
Introduced June 30, 2025 by Rep. McCaul, with original cosponsor Gregory Meeks. In the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.S.Res. 236
Senate version of the resolution calling for the return of abducted Ukrainian children before any peace agreement.
Introduced May 20, 2025 by Sen. Grassley with six original cosponsors. In the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.Abducted Ukrainian Children Recovery and Accountability Act
Supports Ukraine’s efforts to track abducted children, rehabilitate and reintegrate those returned, and hold perpetrators accountable.
S. 2119 / H.R. 5962. Enacted through the FY2026 NDAA, December 2025.H.Res. 149
Condemned russia’s illegal kidnapping of children from Ukraine and declared illegal adoptions contrary to the Genocide Convention.
Passed March 19, 2024, 390–9. Rep. Susan Wild recognized UNWLA members’ advocacy.Bringing communities together
Return Ukraine’s Children is the umbrella for UNWLA’s year-round advocacy. Within it, our campaigns mobilize communities around a moment in time.
Children Praying for Children
Children Praying for Children is an annual advocacy campaign launched by the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA) in 2024 to raise awareness about the illegal abduction of Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories by russian authorities.
Each year, from our campaign kick-off on October 17 through World Children’s Day on November 20, we invite local communities across the United States to come together in prayer for the thousands of Ukrainian children who have been forcibly removed from their homes.
Become the Hope for Ukraine’s Children
For the next two months, the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America is putting Ukraine’s children at the center of our work – through fundraising, advocacy, community action, and education.
Learn moreHow we got here
Yellow markers = UNWLA milestones.
2025 – 2026
- September 16, 2026H.R. 10473 (Justice for Ukrainian Children Act) introduced by Representative Walkinshaw with bipartisan original cosponsors.
- August 2026Ukrainian prosecutors identify four Russian occupation officials as suspects in the forced deportation of 53 Ukrainian orphans, all five years old or younger, from occupied Donetsk and Makiivka to Russia in October 2022. Scripps News
- July 9, 2026Independent experts under the OSCE Moscow Mechanism report on Russia’s militarization and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.
- June 2026The Kremlin facilitates the transfer of 200 Ukrainian children to the Russian-occupied region of Abkhazia, showing that deportations continue well into 2026. ISW
- March 25, 2026Yale Humanitarian Research Lab’s “Willing Accomplices” links Russian energy companies to the transport and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.
- March 2026The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine presents its findings regarding the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children as crimes against humanity.
- December 2025The Abducted Ukrainian Children Recovery and Accountability Act is signed into law as part of the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act.
- December 5, 2025The UN reports that approximately 1.6 million Ukrainian children reside in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine. UNRIC
- December 4, 2025The Senate holds a momentous hearing regarding Ukraine’s abducted children, titled “The Abduction of Ukrainian Children by the Russian Federation,” with bipartisan and bicameral participation and testimony.
- October 10, 2025S. 2119 passed Senate vote as an amendment to the NDAA.
- September 16, 2025Yale Lab issues report which documents russia’s network of re-education and militarization camps for abducted Ukrainian children: at least 210 facilities, with re-education at 62.9% of locations and militarization at at least 18%.
- June 30, 2025H.Res. 564 introduced by Representative McCaul, with original cosponsor Gregory Meeks.
- June 18, 2025S. 2119 (Abducted Ukrainian Children Recovery and Accountability Act) introduced by Senators Klobuchar and Grassley.
- May 31 – June 1, 2025UNWLA branches and partner organizations hosted over 50 Children Praying for Children events across 14 states.
- May 20, 2025S.Res. 236 introduced by Senator Grassley, with six original cosponsors.
- March 2025All federal funding for Yale Humanitarian Research Lab (Conflict Observatory) cut by Trump Administration. NPR
2024
- December 3, 2024Yale Lab issues report which documents russia’s intentional, systematic and widespread program of coerced adoption and fostering of Ukrainian children.
- June 1, 2024UNWLA launches Children Praying for Children — over 12 events nationwide and an interfaith service at Ukraine House in Washington, DC.
- March 19, 2024The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.Res. 149 by a vote of 390–9.
- January 31, 2024The US Helsinki Commission held a hearing Eyewitness Accounts: Ukrainian Children and Adult Civilians Abducted by Russia.
- January 11, 2024Reuters special report How Russian Officials and their collaborators spirit away Ukrainian children.
2022 – 2023
- December 7, 2023International Conference “Freedom or Fear”: Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated that the government has confirmed that 19,500 Ukrainian children were illegally abducted and transferred to the russian federation.
- November 7, 2023The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the Resolution and recommended it for a vote by Congress.
- April 2023The UNWLA Advocacy Committee launched the “Return Ukraine’s Children” initiative, which aims to build awareness of the issue and advocate among elected officials to formalize recognition of the crimes by the US government.
- April 17, 2023Senator Gary Peters introduced the Senate version of the Resolution condemning the illegal abduction of children from Ukraine to the russian federation. S.Res. 158
- March 17, 2023International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants against Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, russian ombudswoman, for they are allegedly responsible for the unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children from the occupied territories.
- February 21, 2023Congresswoman Susan Wild introduced a resolution condemning the illegal abduction of children from Ukraine to the russian federation. H.Res. 149
- February 2023The State Department issued a briefing describing the full scale of the crime against Ukrainian children. On the same day, Yale Conflict Lab issued a detailed report analyzing camps and re-educational programs of Ukrainian children launched by russia. The UN held two sessions, “Gross Human Rights Violations due to the Aggression Against Ukraine”: Session 1, Session 2.
- 2022Early in the russian war on Ukraine, news about the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children from the occupied territories to russia surfaced and attracted the attention of the international community. Later in 2022, it became a known fact that russia had abducted thousands of Ukrainian Children.
The Impact of Russia’s War on Ukrainian Children: Deportation, Education, and Identity
Verified statistics, official reports, investigative research, and scholarly sources on the forcible transfer and deportation of children, displacement, damage to and destruction of educational infrastructure and resources, disruptions to learning, and efforts to erase Ukrainian identity through indoctrination and militarization. Educational infrastructure and resources encompass not only schools, but also libraries, textbooks, publishing facilities, and other essential resources that support children’s learning. Updated periodically as new reports and official data become available. Last updated October 5, 2026.
I. Statistical dashboards & official data sources
- Children of War Portal (Government of Ukraine)Portal for children killed, wounded, missing, & deported. Daily updates.
- OHCHR Ukraine country reportThe impact of the armed conflict and occupation on children’s rights in Ukraine, 24 February 2022 – 31 December 2024. Good for broad child-rights stats (killed, injured, and displaced).
- Yale Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL)Open-source investigation mapping, deportation, and reeducation facilities. Excellent for in-depth statistics on deportation/abduction.
- UNICEF – Ukraine Emergency ResponseBroad child-welfare statistics (killed/injured/displaced). Not always detailed on abductions, but strong for contextual child-impact data.
- UNICEF – “One in Five Children Has Lost a Relative or Friend” (February 2025)Survey-based data on psychosocial and mortality impacts, rising child casualties, and damage to schools and health facilities.
- UNICEF – 2026 Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC)Verified child casualty figures (745 children killed; 2,375 injured), increased harm in 2025 compared with 2024, 340,962 children in need of educational support, and damage to infrastructure and essential services.
- European Parliament / EPRS Policy Study (2024)Policy workshop and study with statistical annexes on forced transfer of Ukrainian children; includes NGO and ICC data.
- European Parliament / EPRS Briefing (Mentzelopoulou)Overview of legal and policy frameworks concerning the forcible displacement of Ukrainian children, including international law implications.
II. Advocacy & case tracking
- Bring Kids Back UAStrategic action plan initiated by the President of Ukraine. It unites the efforts of the Ukrainian government, partner countries and international organizations to bring back the children who have been forcefully deported from Ukraine.
- Forget Us NotCoordinating initiative to inform and empower civil society behind the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. Statistics, reports, and tracking of US legislation.
- Save Ukraine FoundationKyiv-based NGO conducting rescue missions and supporting the return and rehabilitation of deported Ukrainian children.
- WeAreAllUkrainiansGrassroots reunification initiative; German partner organization of Bring Kids Back UA through its collaboration with Save Ukraine.
III. Papers & scholarly analysis
IV. NGO / research reports
- OSCE ODIHR — Militarization and Indoctrination of Ukrainian Children by the Russian Federation (July 9, 2026)Report of the independent experts appointed under the OSCE Moscow Mechanism on Russia’s use of education, youth organizations, camps, and state-supported programs to promote Russian identity and suppress Ukrainian identity. Accessible companion: The Conversation, July 31, 2026.
- Scripps News — “The Video That Exposed a War Crime: 53 Ukrainian Orphans Put on a Plane to Russia” (August 21, 2026)Ukrainian prosecutors identify four Russian occupation officials as suspects in the deportation of 53 orphans aged five or younger from occupied Donetsk and Makiivka in October 2022. At least 28 were entered into Russia’s federal adoption database and transferred to Russian families.
- OHCHR — “I am still looking for my daughter” (2026)The March 2026 Conference Room Paper presents findings of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine regarding the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children.
- Stanford FSI — “The $36 Billion Question” (May 1, 2026)Gibson, Rodriguez, Farrington, Schmitt & Pavlevych. Extending General License 134 through 2026 would give Russia an additional $36.1 billion in oil revenues, largely to Rosneft and Gazprom — entities linked to the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children.
- Yale HRL — “Intentional, Systematic, & Widespread” (2024)20-month open-source investigation mapping the networks, actors, legal mechanisms, and transport systems used to deport children, and how they are naturalized and placed with Russian families or institutions.
- International Criminal Court arrest warrants (March 17, 2023)Warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova over the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children — a major step from documenting the crime toward prosecuting those allegedly responsible.
- Human Rights Watch (2023)“We Must Provide a Family, Not Rebuild Orphanages”.
- Amnesty International (2022)“Ukraine: Russia’s unlawful transfer of civilians”.
V. Impact of the war on Ukrainian children
While the forcible transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children remains a central concern, the broader effects of Russia’s war have profoundly disrupted childhood itself. Millions of children have been displaced, thousands of schools have been damaged or destroyed, and years of interrupted education have affected learning, development, and emotional well-being. Children living under occupation face increasing risks of indoctrination, militarization, and the systematic erosion of their Ukrainian identity.
1A. Education, displacement, and childhood
- UNICEF — “Children in Ukraine Face a Fifth Year of Assault on Their Right to Learn” (September 15, 2026)More than 1,000 air-raid alerts in the first 15 days of the 2026–27 school year; nearly 4.2 million children returned to learning; about half of 15-year-olds below PISA baseline in math or reading.
- UNICEF — More than a Third of Ukraine’s Children Remain Displaced (February 17, 2026)2,589,900 children displaced — over 791,000 internally and nearly 1.8 million abroad. 1,700+ educational facilities damaged or destroyed; one in three children unable to attend school in person full-time.
- UNICEF — Education DisruptedOnly one-third of schoolchildren learn entirely in person; three-quarters of preschool-aged children in frontline communities cannot attend early childhood education.
- Sers, R. — “Child Health and Wellbeing in Ukraine,” The Lancet (July 18, 2026)Four in ten children live in poverty; 4,600+ educational facilities damaged or destroyed; about half of all children experiencing mental distress. Open-access summary.
- World Vision — Needs Assessment: Education, Psychosocial Support and Child Protection (August 14, 2026)Field assessment in Dnipropetrovska, Kharkivska, Mykolaivska, Zaporizka, and Chernihivska oblasts: school safety, mental health, barriers to education, and teacher support.
- Tucker, S. et al. — Hope Groups Intervention, The Lancet Regional Health – Europe (August 25, 2026)Randomised trial with 510 war-affected parents and caregivers: lower depression and anxiety, stronger parenting, and less violence against children.
- Kyianovskyi, A. — Sustaining Educational and Psychological Support During Protracted War, Frontiers in Psychology (August 25, 2026)A Kherson-region laboratory model (2023–2026) for how schools sustain support as war becomes a prolonged condition.
1B. Educational and cultural heritage
Missile strikes have destroyed printing plants, libraries, and millions of books. The May 2024 attack on the Factor-Druk printing plant in Kharkiv alone destroyed approximately 100,000 books and disrupted production of about 40% of Ukraine’s school textbooks. In occupied territories, Ukrainian-language textbooks have been replaced with Russian-approved curricula.
- PEN America — Ukrainian Culture Under AttackRussia’s attacks on publishers, libraries, museums, and schools, and the threat to children’s learning and national identity.
- Publishers Weekly — Attack on Ukrainian Printing Plant Disrupts Publishing IndustryThe May 2024 strike on Factor-Druk and its impact on school textbook production.
- The Guardian — “They Burned Books, Like the Nazis Did 80 Years Ago”Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s publishing industry and libraries, and the erasure of cultural identity.
2. Forced militarization, propaganda, and ideological indoctrination
- Dvornichenko, D. — “Sanctions and the Militarisation of Ukraine’s Children,” RUSI Journal (September 2, 2026)Argues sanctions should reach the full network — occupation officials, camp personnel, businesses, and financial institutions — to disrupt the system itself.
- ISW — Russian Occupation Update (June 18, 2026)The Kremlin facilitated the transfer of 200 Ukrainian children to occupied Abkhazia — deportations continue well into 2026.
- OCCRP — How Russia Recruits Teenagers in Occupied Ukraine (April 30, 2026)Recruitment, ideological conditioning, and militarization of teenagers through youth organizations, media programs, and camps.
- ISW — Russian Occupation Update (February 19, 2026)Forced displacement, filtration procedures, and indoctrination affecting Ukrainian children.
- Yale HRL — “Ukraine’s Stolen Children: Inside Russia’s Network of Re-education” (September 16, 2025)Children taken to at least 210 facilities; re-education at 62.9% of locations and militarization at at least 18%.
- PBS FRONTLINE — Children of UkraineFamilies searching for missing children, investigators, and teenagers who escaped Russian propaganda.
3. Russian energy sector involvement in child deportation systems
- Yale HRL — “Willing Accomplices” (March 25, 2026)Role of Russian energy companies in the transport and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.
- Stanford FSI — Mistaken Sanction Relief (March 2026)How U.S. General License 134A benefits Russian energy companies implicated in war crimes against Ukrainian children.
4. Human rights monitoring and occupation conditions
- UNRIC — Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir statement (December 5, 2025)Approximately 1.6 million Ukrainian children aged 0–18 reside in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine.
- UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU)Field-based monitoring of killings, injuries, psychological harm, family separation, forced displacement, and occupation policies affecting children.
- International Crisis Group (ICG)Civilian harm, occupation governance, displacement, and social fragmentation.
Books & films
Books
- Before They’re Gone (2025)E. A. McCarthy · Historical Fiction · Adult / older teen
- Under Attack (Kidnapped from Ukraine #1) (2025)Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch · Scholastic · Middle school
- Standoff (Kidnapped from Ukraine #2) (2025)Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch · Scholastic · Middle school
- Still Alive (Kidnapped from Ukraine #3)Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch · Scholastic · Middle school · ISBN 978-1546104575
- You Don’t Know What War Is (2022)Yeva Skalietska · Juvenile Nonfiction / Diary · Middle school
- The Stolen Children (2023)Tetiana Fedosiuk · ICDS · Adult / academic
- Stolen Youth (2024)Straightforward Foundation · Upper high school–adult
- Gestohlene Leben (Stolen Lives) (2023)Wladimir Klitschko, Tatjana Kiel · German only · Adult
Films & documentaries
- Children in the Fire (2025)Dir. Evgeny Afineevsky · 108 min · Available for showing during special events: evgeny.director@gmail.com
- FRONTLINE — Children of Ukraine (2024)Dir. Paul Kenyon · 54 min · Streaming on PBS
- Ukraine’s Stolen Children (2023)Dir. Shahida Tulaganova · 60 min · Journeyman / ITV
- The War They Play (2025)Dir. Maksym Yakobchuk · The Kyiv Independent · YouTube
More advocacy tools
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How To: Letter To The Editor
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