On Return of Ukrainian children forcibly transferred and deported by Russia

on Return of Ukrainian children forcibly transferred and deported by Russia

B100258/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on Return of Ukrainian children forcibly transferred and deported by Russia

(2025/2691(RSP))

The European Parliament,

having regard to its previous resolutions on Russia

having regard to Article II of the UN Genocide Convention (1948)

having regard to Rule 150 of its Rules of Procedure,

whereas Russia has been forcibly transferring and deporting Ukrainian children since 2014; whereas the first documented case of Ukrainian children being unlawfully taken to Russia dates back to 2014; whereas this practice has significantly accelerated since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine;

whereas UN investigators have stated that the forcible transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children constitute a war crime under international law; whereas the forcible transfer of children from one national or ethnic group to another constitutes a genocide; whereas Russia is committing genocide;

whereas Ukrainian authorities have confirmed the deportation of approximately 20,000 children, while the exact number remains unknown; whereas these deportations continue in Ukrainian territories illegally occupied by Russia;

whereas Russian authorities falsely portray these acts as “evacuations” and systematically erase all ties between the children and Ukraine; whereas the children are subjected to identity manipulation, including the alteration of official documents such as birth certificates and passports, the forced acquisition of Russian citizenship, and changes to their names, all aiming to make them untraceable;

whereas the forcibly transferred children are often placed in foster care or adopted by Russian families without the consent of their legal guardians or the Ukrainian state;

whereas Russia currently occupies over 20% of Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory, home to over 1.5 million children, all of whom are at risk of forced deportation and identity erasure;

whereas the ICC has issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, on charges related to the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children.

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Strongly condemns the systematic forcible transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children carried out by the Russia; declares that these actions meet the legal definition of genocide; calls on all Member States to officially recognize them as such;

Denounces all war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Russia in line with the findings of the ICC; calls for the immediate enforcement of the ICC’s arrest warrants against Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova; urges Member States to fully cooperate with all ongoing international investigations and judicial proceedings;

Demands the immediate and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children who have been unlawfully transferred or deported to Russia; reiterates its support for Ukraine to locate and reunite children with their families as well as their initiatives to document and prosecute these crimes; calls for the reinstatement and expansion of independent tracking projects;

Urges the EU and Member States to expand sanctions to include all individuals and institutions involved in these crimes;

Calls on third countries not to recognize illegal adoptions or documentation issued by Russian authorities in this context;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the HR/VP of the Commission, the parliaments of the Member States, the Ukrainian authorities, and the ICC.