Bringing Ukraine's kids back: Almost 60 countries unite to stop Russia's genocidal kidnapping of children

Ministers from 58 countries announced a sweep of new pledges to help Ukraine bring back more than 20,000 children who have been abducted by Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion, during a high-level event dedicated to the topic in Brussels on May 11.

The event, co-hosted by the EU, Canada, and Ukraine, followed a meeting of EU foreign ministers, in which they agreed to sanction 23 individuals involved in Russia's abduction of children. Canada also sanctioned 23 entities, and the U.K. a further 29  entities linked to Russia's deportation and militarization of Ukrainian children.

Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children is an act of genocide, according to the U.N.'s Genocide Convention, which lists "forcibly transferring children of the group to another group" as one of the five acts that fall under the definition.

Among those sanctioned by the U.K. over the practice is Yulia Velichko, a Moscow-installed "youth policy" official in the Russian-occupied part of Luhansk Oblast.

According to the U.K. government, Velichko helped implement state‑led initiatives for the deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children, including the issuing of Russian passports to children from occupied territories and organizing programs that expose them to Russian ideology.

Likewise, the EU's new sanctions include the All-Russian Children's Centers Orlyonok, Scarlet Sails, and Smena, which collaborate with the occupation authorities to subject Ukrainian children to pro-Russian indoctrination and ideological education.

In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the official responsible for overseeing the forced deportations of children, Maria Lvova-Belova, on the charge of war crimes.

"Today's sanctions are a strong step in exposing and disrupting the depths Russia is willing to go, to interfere and undermine democracy, and destroy Ukraine's future through the abhorrent deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children," said U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.

Money on the table

The U.K. also announced a donation of 1.2 million pounds ($1.6 million) to help locate and identify Ukrainian children who have been illegally taken to Russia, as just one of many contributions revealed during the course of the day.

Several other countries pledged their own donations to the cause of Ukrainian children, including co-hosts Canada and the EU.

"Canada will provide 3.4 million Canadian dollars ($2.5 million), taking its total so far to 4.8 million Canadian dollars ($3.5 million)," the Canadian Foreign Ministry announced.

Earlier in the day, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys announced 10 million euros ($11.7 million) to return stolen children to Ukraine.

And the EU's Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said the European Commission would be bringing "nearly 50 million euros" ($59 million) in a separate grant.

"It will pay to support Ukraine's child protection system. Every returned child should have access to timely, child-centered, and community-based support. Some of the money will also be there for early childhood education, and part of the money is related to getting justice for these children," Kos said.

Conspicuous absences

In attendance, but quietly so, was the United States. According to the European Council Press Center, the U.S. sent only a junior minister to the meeting: Riley Barnes, who has to balance his work as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, with that of Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues.

The U.S. has been a member of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children since 2024, and bringing home abducted youth is one of the few areas where the Trump administration and Europe have been well-aligned.

U.S. First Lady Melania Trump's engagement has been particularly noteworthy. As recently as April, she secured the release of seven Ukrainian children from Russia. And in 2025, she had her husband hand Russia's Vladimir Putin a letter addressing the plight of Ukrainian children when the leaders met in Alaska.

A senior EU official told the Kyiv Independent that "the First Lady was invited. I don't think she can make it," ahead of the May 11 meeting.

But Melania was far from the only absence, and the U.S. was not the only country to have delegated attendance to a lower-ranking official. With around 60 delegations in attendance, over two-thirds of the world's countries did not participate, highlighting once again the challenge for Ukraine of raising and maintaining international sympathy, particularly in the Global South.

Almost all of Europe was represented, including all EU countries. Serbia and Turkey were the main remaining absences in the European map.

But beyond Europe's traditional allies in Japan, North America, and Oceania, big gaps remain. Some of the world's largest countries – China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria – did not attend.

When asked about this, Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand told the Kyiv Independent that while "there are multiple conflicts occurring in the world… I am here today to underline Canada's unwavering support for Ukraine in the short and the long term."

One piece of evidence of that ongoing commitment was Anand's announcement ahead of the meeting that another summit is already scheduled to take place in Toronto September 28-29 this year.

By "standing with Ukraine, we are also standing for all countries that wish those principles to be respected vis-a-vis themselves," she added.