More than 2,134 children abducted by Russia return to Ukraine — Lubinets
According to Ukrinform, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, stated this on Telegram.
"As of now, 2,134 children have already returned home through the President of Ukraine's Bring Kids Back UA initiative. However, thousands of children still remain under temporary occupation or on the territory of the Russian Federation," he wrote.
At the same time, Lubinets stressed that the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children already unites 49 participants.
"We are sincerely grateful to every country that joins this mission. In particular, Switzerland and Cyprus have recently joined," he noted.
The ombudsman added that over the past year he held 126 international meetings with partners.
"At each of them, I emphasize that Russia does not listen to arguments — it responds only to force. That is why sanctions and pressure must be strengthened. I am grateful to every country taking steps to restore justice," he said.
Lubinets recalled that several countries recently introduced sanctions measures against Russia. In particular, Canada imposed sanctions against 23 individuals and five so-called "re-education" camps disguised as cadet classes, ordinary schools, summer recreation, and rehabilitation centers.
The European Union imposed sanctions on 16 individuals and seven legal entities, with further synchronization planned with partners, while the United Kingdom sanctioned 63 individuals and 22 organizations, including those directly involved in the illegal "adoption" of Ukrainian children.
"These results are only part of the world's large-scale systematic work for justice," he emphasized.
In addition, Lubinets noted that a meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children took place in Brussels, where concrete decisions were adopted. These include tens of millions of euros for child protection in Ukraine, funding for search efforts, data verification and the return of children, strengthening international monitoring and accountability mechanisms, and additional resources for organizations working on child returns and family support.
"I thank our partners for supporting Ukraine not only with words, but with concrete actions. For recognizing the truth about the scale and systematic nature of the aggressor state's crimes. For sanctions against specific individuals and organizations as a signal of the inevitability of accountability," he added.
As Ukrinform previously reported, Deputy Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Olena Kondratiuk stated that 42% of the individuals sanctioned by Ukraine in connection with crimes against Ukrainian children are absent from foreign sanctions lists.
Photo: Bring Kids Back UA
