Key points
- As of late April 2026, the Interagency Commission has verified 20,570 cases of deportation or forced displacement of Ukrainian children.
- This was announced by Acting Minister of Justice Liudmyla Suhak at Civil Society and Expert Day, ahead of the meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children in Brussels.
- According to the ECHR ruling in the case Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, the systematic displacement of Ukrainian children began as early as June 2014, and grew significantly larger in scale following the full-scale invasion.
The Interagency Commission for the Verification of Information on Deported or Forcibly Displaced Children has officially confirmed 20,570 cases of deportation of Ukrainian children as of late April 2026. The collection and verification of new data is ongoing, said Acting Minister of Justice of Ukraine and Deputy Minister of Justice for European Integration Liudmyla Suhak during Civil Society and Expert Day on 30 April.
The event took place ahead of the high-level meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, scheduled for 11 May in Brussels, and brought together representatives of civil society, state institutions and international partners.
As established by the European Court of Human Rights in the case Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, prepared and supported by the Ministry of Justice, Russia has been systematically removing and adopting Ukrainian children since June 2014. After the full-scale invasion, these crimes became even more widespread.
Today, the Register of Information on Children Deported or Forcibly Displaced as a Result of the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine contains 20,570 names. The process of identifying and confirming these cases is not an easy one. Our task is to stop these crimes and reunite the children with their families.
– Liudmyla Suhak.
The register has been operating for almost a year. It has a three-tier structure to ensure proper data management – information reaches the final tier only after several stages of checking and verification by the Commission.
Liudmyla Suhak called on the international community to step up pressure on Russia, in particular to demand:
- an end to the forced displacement and deportation of Ukrainian children;
- the provision of full lists of such children, including information on their whereabouts and legal status;
- unhindered access for international monitoring missions and Ukrainian delegations to all locations where Ukrainian children may be held;
- guarantees of the safe reunification of children with their families.
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