17/09/2026
In August 2026, Ukraine continued efforts to return children deported or forcibly transferred by Russia and those trapped in occupied territories, while strengthening international pressure, accountability and reintegration.
103 children were returned this month, bringing the total to 2,525.
Key developments:
🔹 Lithuania allocated €600,000 to seven Ukrainian NGOs supporting children’s return, rehabilitation, families and war-crimes documentation.
🔹 New Zealand became the 51st member of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.
🔹 Ukraine urged its diplomatic missions to systematically raise children’s return, expand the Coalition and strengthen support for the UN General Assembly resolution.
🔹 On 27 August,
and the Office of the Prosecutor General brought together 50 representatives of state institutions, civil society and international partners to improve coordination in documenting crimes against Ukrainian children.
🔹 Ukraine notified four individuals of suspicion over the deportation of 53 children from occupied Donetsk and Makiivka. None has returned to Ukraine; 28 were reportedly placed with Russian families.
🔹 A Ukrainian child listed as missing since 2022 was identified as serving in the Russian military — the first documented case of its kind involving a child from Ukraine’s “Children of War” registry.
🔹 The EU was preparing sanctions against 27 Russian individuals and entities over alleged involvement in the deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children ahead of the Toronto conference.
🔹 International public figures met Ukrainian children affected by deportation, occupation and return, while the “Field of Memory” exhibition highlighted Russia’s killing, deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children remain under Russian control.
There can be no just and lasting peace without their return.