The European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning Russia’s forcible deportation and Russification of Ukrainian children, calling it a “genocide” aimed at erasing Ukrainian identity and demanding the unconditional return of all abducted minors.

According to the resolution, Russia targeted vulnerable groups of children for deportation, including orphans and children from low-income families; whereas Ukrainian human rights activists uncovered Kremlin documents dated prior to the full-scale invasion which laid out plans to remove Ukrainian children and bring them to Russia under the guise of “humanitarian evacuations”;

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has identified over 19,500 children who were illegally transferred to Russia, Belarus, or Russian-occupied territories. Fewer than 1,300 have been returned. However, many experts say that the real number is much higher. Citing the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, the actual figure is estimated to be as high as 35,000 as of March 2025.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin signed a decree in May 2022 providing a simplified procedure for the acquisition of Russian citizenship for Ukrainian children; whereas many of the deported children are forced to endure “re-education” facilities, meant to instill pro-Russian sentiments though “military-patriotic” training while others have been forcibly adopted into Russian families; whereas Russia opened a cadet school for abducted Ukrainian children, creating a direct pipeline into the federal security forces.

Russia is conducting a “systematic, intentional, and widespread” campaign of forced adoption and Russification. Many children are enrolled in organizations like Yunarmiya, or the “Young Army,” which trains minors in military skills and indoctrinates them with loyalty to the Kremlin, the Ukrainian newspaper Kyiv Independent reports.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has already issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in connection with the abductions.