Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago, thousands of Ukrainian children have been taken into captivity.
“These are the children that have been either deported to Russia or forcefully transferred within occupied territories,” Maksym Maksymov, the leader of Bring Kids Back UA, told CBN News.
Bring Kids Back UA is an initiative launched by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to identify, locate, and return their children.
Although Ukraine confirms more than 20,000 cases of abducted children, Maksymov believes that number to be much higher.
“In 2023, they made two statements. The first one they have proudly posted about welcoming, I quote, the Ukrainian children in the amount of 744,000 to Russia,” said Maksymov. “That was their statement, number one. And the second one is in their report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, they said that they have issued Russian citizenship to 46,000 Ukrainian kids.”
Many of those taken have been stripped of their identities, language, and culture. Children have also been placed in Russian state institutions, forced into military camps, put up for illegal adoption and more.
“They’re told that the nation of Ukraine doesn’t exist, that they have nowhere else to go, that their families have forsaken them,” human rights lawyer Sharanjeet Parmar said in an interview with CBN News. “And in other terrible cases also, we have cases of girls being exposed to sexual violence as well as sex trafficking.”
Parmar said the abductions of Ukraine’s youth should be labeled war crimes.
“The European Court of Human Rights found that the Russian Federation has been violating children’s right to family and right to their personal status as a result of these abductions whilst living under occupation,” Parmar explained. “We also have seen the International Criminal Court issue arrest warrants against Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, who’s the child rights commissioner who has openly declared having transferred Ukrainian children into areas under Russian control and with Russian families.”
A coalition of countries, including the U.S. is working to secure the return of the children.
“The first lady of the United States, Melania Trump, has been very much involved in this issue, not only raising its visibility to the new level, making sure that every policymaker on the planet is aware that this is happening, but also have been contributing directly to three dozen returns,” commented Maksymov. “So, three dozen kids and families have been reunited back in Ukraine in safety and in comfort with the assistance, with direct involvement of the United States.”
The U.S. State Department has pledged $25 million to find and return children, while also providing critical resources to help those rescued heal.
“There are multiple services provided across medical needs, psychological needs, humanitarian needs,” said Maksymov. “It is most important that they are provided with a good environment.”
