Ukrainian Children Speak Out: Watch Video Testimonies About Russia’s War Crimes
February 24th will mark the third anniversary of the full-scale war in Ukraine. As the country continues to fight courageously for the future of democracy and Europe, thousands of Ukrainian children are suffering from unlawful deportation and other war crimes. The President of Ukraine has launched a strategic action plan, Bring Kids Back UA, in order to help bring children back to their families. We invite our university’s community to watch direct testimonies of the children on the plan’s YouTube channel.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federation has engaged in systematic deportation and forcible displacement of Ukrainian children. Although the exact number of abducted children remains unknown, the publicly discussed figures range from around 20,000 to 700,000.
Senior Russian officials, including Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, orchestrated a program to erase Ukrainian identity through illegal citizenship changes, forced adoptions, and re-education. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against them for war crimes, specifically the unlawful deportation and transfer of children, highlighting the systemic nature of these crimes.
The return of Ukrainian kids is a key element of the fourth point in President Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula, “Release of prisoners and deportees”. In response to Russia’s actions, the President of Ukraine has launched the action plan Bring Kids Back UA, which unites the efforts of the Ukrainian government, partner countries and international organizations to bring back the children who have been forcefully deported from Ukraine.
Bring Kids Back UA focuses on six key areas: repatriating illegally deported children to reunite them with their families, supporting their reintegration, strengthening family-based care, advocating internationally and rallying global support to pressure Russia, pursuing justice for war crimes, and preventing future child rights violations in conflicts.
