A Stolen Future: How the Enemy Is Taking Ukrainian Children Away and Why We Must Bring Every One of Them Home
Source: Frontliner
Author: Ostap Hrebinka
This year, Ukraine will submit a resolution to the UN condemning Russia’s abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children, Zelenskyy stated. After all, from the very first days of the full-scale war, Russia has not only been destroying Ukrainian cities and villages—it has been stealing the future. Literally. As of 2025, there are officially more than 20,000 Ukrainian children known to have been forcibly taken to Russia or the temporarily occupied Crimea. The Russians did not evacuate them or provide them with shelter; rather, they took them away without the consent of their parents, the state, or the children themselves. These children are not orphans or refugees, as the Kremlin tries to portray them. They are very real boys and girls with families, names, and memories who, in an instant, found themselves on the other side of the border.
Russia isn’t just taking them away; it’s turning Ukrainian children into “Russians.” Behind every such story lies the destruction of a child’s sense of self, an attempt to rewrite their identity, and to break them psychologically.
How the mechanism of abduction and “re-education”
works The Russians scatter children illegally taken from Ukraine across various regions—from Crimea to Chita. Many of them initially end up in so-called “temporary detention centers,” camps, or boarding schools. These are often institutions with strict discipline and ideological indoctrination. Their last names are changed, they are granted Russian citizenship, and then they are placed with foster families. In some cases, they are simply adopted through a simplified procedure personally approved by dictator Vladimir Putin. Now, when a child from a Ukrainian city or village calls himself Ivan from some city in Rostov, the Russian authorities declare, “This is our citizen.”
The children are shown Russian television, where Ukraine is a “non-existent state,” the Ukrainian Armed Forces are “terrorists,” and Russia is the “liberator.” They are taught to love Putin, wear St. George’s ribbons, and march in formation with “Yunarmiya.” The most frightening thing is that for many of them, this is imposed so aggressively and systematically that they begin to believe in this reality.
These are not isolated incidents, but a systematic policy of the Russian state, which has been recognized by the international community as a war crime. Such actions by the Russians are part of a larger plan: to deprive Ukraine of its future and destroy the nation itself through mass indoctrination of its children. In other words, this is a component of Russia’s genocide against Ukrainians.
Who Is Bringing Ukrainian Children
Home, and How? As of early 2025, Ukraine has managed to bring back more than 1,200 children. But this is a drop in the bucket. Meanwhile, the return of each of these children involves a separate special operation: negotiations, crossing several countries’ borders, paperwork, mediation, searching in Russia for the family holding the child, and cooperation with international organizations. The government-led initiative “Bring Kids Back UA” is active, the organization “Save Ukraine” is actively helping, and governments of other countries and volunteers—who physically bring the children back across borders—are also contributing their efforts.
The hardest part is finding a child who has already been “re-registered.” Russian authorities conceal the true whereabouts of many children, refuse to provide information, and sometimes even claim that such children “do not exist.” That’s why every repatriation is a marathon of stress, pain, and sleepless nights for parents, lawyers, and human rights advocates.
Will we bring all of Ukraine’s children home?
This question isn’t just about the law or politics. It’s about us. It’s about who we are and what we’re willing to do for our children. The reality right now is that there is no mass mechanism for repatriation. To bring each child home, we will have to wait either for the war to end completely or for a change in the political regime in Russia.
But waiting doesn’t mean sitting idly by. An international coalition of more than 40 countries has already been formed. A platform is in place to document cases of illegal deportation, and hundreds of pieces of evidence have been gathered for court. The International Criminal Court in The Hague has already issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and his henchwoman Maria Lvova-Belova. These are not merely symbolic acts. They are the foundation for future accountability.
Ukraine is one of the few countries in the world that is trying to bring its children home not when the war is already over, but right now, under shelling. We have no right to stop this fight. Every child who returns home is a victory over those who wanted to erase their name, language, and memory. This is a matter of honor for us. After all, every such child is a part of our country. Their language and memories are what we are fighting for. That is why Ukraine is fighting for its children and will not stop. Because bringing a child home is a matter of the future.
***
Supported by the Association of Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine and Amediastiftelsen as part of the Regional Media Support Hub project. The authors’ views do not necessarily reflect the official position of the partners.
Author: Ostap Hrebinka
This year, Ukraine will submit a resolution to the UN condemning Russia’s abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children, Zelenskyy stated. After all, from the very first days of the full-scale war, Russia has not only been destroying Ukrainian cities and villages—it has been stealing the future. Literally. As of 2025, there are officially more than 20,000 Ukrainian children known to have been forcibly taken to Russia or the temporarily occupied Crimea. The Russians did not evacuate them or provide them with shelter; rather, they took them away without the consent of their parents, the state, or the children themselves. These children are not orphans or refugees, as the Kremlin tries to portray them. They are very real boys and girls with families, names, and memories who, in an instant, found themselves on the other side of the border.
Russia isn’t just taking them away; it’s turning Ukrainian children into “Russians.” Behind every such story lies the destruction of a child’s sense of self, an attempt to rewrite their identity, and to break them psychologically.
How the mechanism of abduction and “re-education”
works The Russians scatter children illegally taken from Ukraine across various regions—from Crimea to Chita. Many of them initially end up in so-called “temporary detention centers,” camps, or boarding schools. These are often institutions with strict discipline and ideological indoctrination. Their last names are changed, they are granted Russian citizenship, and then they are placed with foster families. In some cases, they are simply adopted through a simplified procedure personally approved by dictator Vladimir Putin. Now, when a child from a Ukrainian city or village calls himself Ivan from some city in Rostov, the Russian authorities declare, “This is our citizen.”
The children are shown Russian television, where Ukraine is a “non-existent state,” the Ukrainian Armed Forces are “terrorists,” and Russia is the “liberator.” They are taught to love Putin, wear St. George’s ribbons, and march in formation with “Yunarmiya.” The most frightening thing is that for many of them, this is imposed so aggressively and systematically that they begin to believe in this reality.
These are not isolated incidents, but a systematic policy of the Russian state, which has been recognized by the international community as a war crime. Such actions by the Russians are part of a larger plan: to deprive Ukraine of its future and destroy the nation itself through mass indoctrination of its children. In other words, this is a component of Russia’s genocide against Ukrainians.
Who Is Bringing Ukrainian Children
Home, and How? As of early 2025, Ukraine has managed to bring back more than 1,200 children. But this is a drop in the bucket. Meanwhile, the return of each of these children involves a separate special operation: negotiations, crossing several countries’ borders, paperwork, mediation, searching in Russia for the family holding the child, and cooperation with international organizations. The government-led initiative “Bring Kids Back UA” is active, the organization “Save Ukraine” is actively helping, and governments of other countries and volunteers—who physically bring the children back across borders—are also contributing their efforts.
The hardest part is finding a child who has already been “re-registered.” Russian authorities conceal the true whereabouts of many children, refuse to provide information, and sometimes even claim that such children “do not exist.” That’s why every repatriation is a marathon of stress, pain, and sleepless nights for parents, lawyers, and human rights advocates.
Will we bring all of Ukraine’s children home?
This question isn’t just about the law or politics. It’s about us. It’s about who we are and what we’re willing to do for our children. The reality right now is that there is no mass mechanism for repatriation. To bring each child home, we will have to wait either for the war to end completely or for a change in the political regime in Russia.
But waiting doesn’t mean sitting idly by. An international coalition of more than 40 countries has already been formed. A platform is in place to document cases of illegal deportation, and hundreds of pieces of evidence have been gathered for court. The International Criminal Court in The Hague has already issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and his henchwoman Maria Lvova-Belova. These are not merely symbolic acts. They are the foundation for future accountability.
Ukraine is one of the few countries in the world that is trying to bring its children home not when the war is already over, but right now, under shelling. We have no right to stop this fight. Every child who returns home is a victory over those who wanted to erase their name, language, and memory. This is a matter of honor for us. After all, every such child is a part of our country. Their language and memories are what we are fighting for. That is why Ukraine is fighting for its children and will not stop. Because bringing a child home is a matter of the future.
***
Supported by the Association of Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine and Amediastiftelsen as part of the Regional Media Support Hub project. The authors’ views do not necessarily reflect the official position of the partners.
This is an automatic translation generated by DeepL.