During a recent UN Security Council meeting, UK Minister for Europe, North America, and Overseas Territories, Stephen Doughty, asserted that Russia is employing Ukrainian children as instruments of war through forced deportations. He emphasized that the return of all abducted children is essential for achieving a just peace.
Doughty recounted his meeting in September 2025 with children who had been deported by Russia, where they shared their experiences of being separated from their families and coerced into adopting new identities. He mentioned a drawing by a Ukrainian child who managed to escape Russia and is currently receiving treatment for the trauma endured.
“Russia is doing this to tens of thousands of children, using them as tools of war. I must ask the Russian representative: don’t you feel ashamed?” Doughty stated.
The minister pointed out that since the onset of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian children have spent 4,000 hours under the sound of air raid sirens, equivalent to over five months. He noted that the constant noise, power outages, fear, and loss are severely damaging the mental health of these children.
“A generation is being deprived of the safety and peace that every child in the world deserves,” he highlighted.
Doughty reiterated that any peace agreement must include the return of all abducted children and prisoners of war, along with accountability for the crimes committed. The UK is committed to supporting efforts to facilitate their return and hold perpetrators accountable.
Background on the Abduction of Ukrainian Children by Russia
According to Daria Gerasimchuk, the President’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, as of late March 2023, Ukrainian authorities confirmed that over 19,500 children had been taken from temporarily occupied territories to Russia. Accurate numbers are difficult to ascertain due to the conditions of occupation.
On April 5, 2023, 49 countries condemned Russia for organizing a Security Council meeting regarding the alleged legal basis for the abduction of Ukrainian children from occupied territories. The UK blocked the broadcast of remarks by Russia’s Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova on UN platforms, demanding she face justice in The Hague.
The Office of the Prosecutor General indicated that there is currently no transparent mechanism for returning Ukrainian children deported to Russia.
On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for President Putin and Lvova-Belova, suspecting them of illegal deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children.
On February 17, 2026, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that 2,000 Ukrainian children had been successfully returned to Ukraine.
UK Minister Stephen Doughty addressed the UN Security Council, accusing Russia of using Ukrainian children as tools of war through forced deportations. He highlighted the urgent need for the return of abducted children as a prerequisite for peace.