Bring Ukrainian kids back

By Dmytro Ponomarenko

Two weeks ago, to commemorate the start of the third year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, together with our British colleagues we presented in Seoul the documentary “After the Rain: Putin’s Stolen Children Come Home” by Sarah McCarthy. It follows the story of several Ukrainian children, once illegally deported to Russia but later repatriated, finding healing at an animal therapy retreat in Estonia. As the children laugh, play and heal with the help of golden retrievers and horses, we watch their painful memories and trauma of being forcefully removed from their loved ones unravel with the help of skilled and sensitive counsellors.

These children are but the few lucky ones who made it back to their families in Ukraine. Nearly 20,000 abducted children remain in Russian institutions.

Few crimes in human history provoke as much revulsion and moral outrage as the deliberate targeting of children in wartime. Yet, the brutal reality of Russia’s decade-long aggression against Ukraine confronts the civilized world with an extraordinary concentration of such atrocities.

Russia’s war of conquest and genocide has had catastrophic consequences for children. Moscow continues the criminal practice of forcible transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children and in every possible way, impeding their repatriation and reunification with families in Ukraine. Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova openly declared the intention of ''settling'' over 700,000 Ukrainian children in Russia. And Russia is scattering them across its vast territory. A number of 19,546 such cases were documented while 4,390 Ukrainian kids who are orphans or lack parental care were illegally transferred. This criminal policy led to the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant for both Vladimir Putin and Lvova-Belova.

While in Russia, the Ukrainian children’s citizenship is being changed, they are being transferred to Russian families, and should they want to return to their country, any attempts to cross the Russian border are rejected. At least 380 Ukrainian children have been placed under so-called ''temporary guardianship'' (illegally adopted) in Russia. According to Yale University Humanitarian Research Lab report titled ''Russia’s systematic program of coerced adoption and fostering of Ukraine’s children,'' at least 314 Ukrainian children taken from Donetsk and Luhansk regions were placed in as many as 21 regions of Russia. In total, over 500 people and organizations in Russia fall under the term "kidnappers" of Ukrainian children.

The systematic, large-scale and premeditated forced displacement and deportation of Ukrainian children bear all the hallmarks of a state policy deliberately enacted. This horrific practice, which began with the occupation of Crimea in 2014, is not only a blatant violation of international law but also a calculated assault on Ukrainian society and its future. The targeted transfers of children mark the apex of Russia’s genocidal campaign to erase Ukrainian identity, replacing it with Russian narratives built on deception and falsification.

Many in the international community struggle to grasp the full magnitude of this crime. However, it is nothing new as any nation that managed to escape from the clutches of the Russian empire or Soviet Union can attest. It is the continuation of a centuries-old campaign of national identity destruction, cultural oppression and forced assimilation — culminating in the current totalitarian ideology of the “Russkiy Mir” (“Russian World”).

To really appreciate the gravity of the crime we must understand that criminals rarely see themselves as such, often seeking to justify their actions. The gross hypocrisy behind the Kremlin’s narrative of “evacuation,” which is used to mask the largest kidnapping operation in modern history, must be thoroughly exposed. We must be aware that we are facing one of the most powerful global propaganda machines ever created, one that distorts reality to portray the most heinous crimes as acts of mercy.

In response to the problem of such magnitude, the Bring Kids Back UA platform was initiated by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine, together with Canada, launched the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, which was joined by 41 countries and the Council of Europe. Thanks to the joint efforts of the coalition members, 1,071 children have been brought home, 449 of them in 2024. Following the Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of the Peace Formula in Montreal in November last year, 53 countries signed the Montreal Pledge, aimed at facilitating the return of all Ukrainian captives and deportees. The Government of Ukraine is actively working to establish a comprehensive, locally driven reintegration system that ensures the long-term well-being and integration of returned children into safe family environments and communities.

To effectively implement these initiatives, we seek broad international support and coordination. We encourage our partners to explore opportunities for engagement, whether through funding, technical expertise or policy support.

We deeply appreciate the support of the Republic of Korea, a nation that understands the pain of separation and shares with us the deep respect for the values of humanity and democracy. The division of the Korean Peninsula has left families torn apart for generations. This historical similarity strengthens our bond and reinforces our determination that no parent, no child, no family should ever suffer such forced separation again.

We hope that the Republic of Korea will join the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children. I am certain that South Korea’s participation would help to coordinate global efforts and contribute to worldwide awareness that the children must be returned home, and their best interests protected.

By safeguarding their future, we are upholding the principles of human dignity and justice that form the foundation of global society, and in doing so, we are protecting the future of all humanity.

Dmytro Ponomarenko is Ukrainian ambassador to Republic of Korea.