New York — December 2025 — The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution calling on Russia to immediately and unconditionally return thousands of Ukrainian children who have been abducted and transferred from occupied territories since the start of the war.
The measure — backed by a clear majority of member states — expresses deep alarm over the removal of children from Ukraine to Russia or Russian‑controlled areas, warning that such actions violate international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the forcible transfer of protected persons from occupied territory.
Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said the issue “strikes at the heart of international law and human dignity,” urging Moscow to halt any further removals and to reverse actions such as changing children’s citizenship, placing them in foster care, or facilitating adoptions inside Russia.
Russia dismissed the resolution as politically motivated, while Ukraine maintains that more than 20,000 children have been taken since the full‑scale invasion began — a figure that remains difficult to verify due to restricted access to occupied regions.
Although non‑binding, the resolution adds to mounting global pressure and reinforces findings by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, which has documented systematic patterns of child abductions and transfers.
