The Council of Europe has joined 38 countries[1] and the EU calling on Russia to return the kidnapped Ukrainian children without delay and any conditions. The joint statement was issued by the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children co-chaired by Canada and Ukraine, of which the Council of Europe is a member.
Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on the situation of Children of Ukraine, Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjord Gylfadóttir said that Ukrainian children unlawfully deported to Russia must be returned. "Children living under Russian occupation must be released. Children living in fear of terror must be given safety. Russia must be held accountable for making the destruction of children's lives its strategic policy in a war of aggression."
During their bilateral meeting held in Istanbul on June 2, 2025, the statement reads, the Government of Ukraine presented the Russian Federation with an initial list of 339 Ukrainian children unlawfully deported to the Russian Federation or forcibly transferred from temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine, and it formally requested their immediate and unconditional return. The signatories of the statement call on Russia to:
- act promptly and meaningfully on the initial list of children presented by Ukraine, ensuring their immediate and unconditional return to their families and communities in Ukraine;
- facilitate the return of all unlawfully deported and forcibly transferred Ukrainian children, in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions;
- provide full and verifiable information on all unlawfully deported and forcibly transferred Ukrainian children under the effective control of the Russian Federation, including their whereabouts, well-being, legal status, health condition, and ensure unhindered access for international humanitarian organizations to assess their situation and safeguard their rights and well-being; and
- cease to alter the identity of children, including changes to their citizenship, placement in Russian families or institutions, ideological indoctrination, and exposure to militarisation.
The members of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, including the Council of Europe, reiterated their unwavering commitment to the protection of children affected by Russia's illegal, unprovoked, and unjustifiable full-scale military invasion of Ukraine.
The return of Ukrainian children is one vital step in this broader imperative, to ensure that children are never used as pawns of war, the statement reads.
In the recent judgment in the interstate case Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights found Russia responsible for the "systemic and regulatory" violations of the European Convention on Human Rights, including the unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia and in many cases their adoption there.[2] The ECHR ruled that "the respondent State [the Russian Federation] must without delay cooperate in the establishment of an international and independent mechanism to secure, as soon as possible and with due consideration of the children's best interests, the identification of all children transferred from Ukraine to Russia and Russian-controlled territory before 16 September 2022, the restoration of contact between these children and their surviving family members or legal guardians and the children's safe reunification with their families or legal guardians."[3]
Press release on the website of the President of Ukraine
[1] The joint statement was signed by: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Council of Europe, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, European Union (observer) and Switzerland (observer).
[2] Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia Applications nos. 8019/16, 43800/14, 28525/20 and 11055/22,09.07.2025.
[3] Ibid, para 1646.
