Come l’Ucraina sta costruendo un sistema di ritorno, reintegrazione e protezione dei bambini rapiti dalla Russia

From the article: Since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, one of its most disturbing and least visible crimes has targeted Ukraine’s most vulnerable: our children. Under occupation, Russia has orchestrated the forced transfer of thousands of Ukrainian children into Russia or Russian-controlled territories. There, they face illegal adoption, involuntary Russian citizenship, and aggressive assimilation designed to sever their ties to Ukraine.

This is not a humanitarian crisis — it is a war crime. And the world has recognized it as such. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, citing the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children. For the first time since WWII, a sitting head of state has been indicted for crimes against children.

The ICC concluded that these removals were deliberate and centrally organized. Russian authorities once openly celebrated the “adoption” of Ukrainian children in propaganda campaigns. Even after international scrutiny, the practice continues in violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Ukraine has chosen a different path — one grounded in law, humanity, and dignity. We launched the Presidential Initiative, Bring Kids Back UA, to return and reintegrate children forcibly taken by Russia. It brings together government ministries, civil society, and international partners to act in each child’s best interests. And in May 2024, Ukraine formalized this effort through Resolution No. 551, which established a national mechanism to identify, return, and protect abducted children.

“The priority is to return children to their biological families. When this isn’t possible, they are placed in foster or adoptive families.”

At the heart of this system is the individual return plan — a personalized document that considers each child’s age, health, legal status, family ties, and the specific circumstances of their deportation. This ensures not just repatriation, but real reintegration.

From the moment a case is reported, a coordinated network engages: the Social Policy Ministry, Security Service of Ukraine, Prosecutor General’s Office, Migration and Border Services, among others. Each has a defined role. The priority is to return children to their biological families. When this isn’t possible, they are placed in foster or adoptive families.

These are not policy abstractions — they are personal realities. One teenage girl, returned from Kherson, had been living alone after her mother’s death. She didn’t trust adults and resisted all offers of placement. Only after several attempts did she connect with a large foster family. Today, she calls it her own. Another boy, forcibly taken to Russia in 2022, was enrolled in a Russian school while his aunt changed his citizenship. All the while, he dreamed of returning to his older brother in Kyiv, a wounded soldier. Thanks to coordinated action, the brothers now live together and are rebuilding their future.