Russia's deportations of Ukrainian children amount to crimes against humanity, UN inquiry finds

Record ID: 2364241

  • Title: Russia's deportations of Ukrainian children amount to crimes against humanity, UN inquiry finds
  • Date: 12th March 2026
  • Summary: BHOPAL, MADHYA PRADESH, INDIA (MARCH 12, 2026) (ANI - No use India) CHEF PREPARING FOOD ON INDUCTION STOVE/WORKERS IN RESTAURANT CHEF STIRRING INGREDIENTS INSIDE VESSEL KEPT ON INDUCTION STOVE CHEF AND WORKERS WEARING HAIRNET WORKING CHEF PREPARING FOOD ON INDUCTION STOVE CHEF PREPARING FOOD ON LPG GAS STOVE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE EATING INSIDE RESTAURANT (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) RE
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Russia Ukraine United Nations children commisison of inquiry deportation human rights war
  • Location: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
  • City: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts
  • Reuters ID: LVA00B334712032026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:A U.N. investigation presenting its report on Thursday (March 12) said that Russia's deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children since Moscow's full-scale invasion in 2022 amounted to crimes against humanity.
    Ukraine says close to 20,000 children have been illegally sent to Russia and Belarus where they are sometimes subject to military training and forced to fight against their own compatriots.
    The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and five other Russians over illegal deportation of children. Moscow denies it is taking children against their will, saying it has been evacuating people voluntarily to remove them from a war zone.
    “The scale and the scope of these crimes have led the Commission to conclude that Russian authorities have deported and forcibly transferred children as a crime against humanity,” the chair of the Commission, Eric Mose, told the human rights council members.
    The report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine studied the cases of 1,205 children from five regions in Ukraine and said that 80% of them have yet to return.
    Its work is based on analysis of thousands of documents and submissions from rights groups as well as over 200 interviews, including with families of the missing and some children who made it home.
    “These acts have been widespread and systematic, committed as a matter of policy and amount to enforced disappearance,” Mose told member states.
    Ukraine's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk, welcomed the report and called on states to increase pressure on Russia to secure the return of deported children.
    “The victims of these crimes cannot be seen as collateral damage of the war,” he told the human rights council.
    Russia’s seat was empty during the presentation of the Commission’s report and Russia's diplomatic mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    U.S.-funded research last year showed Russia expanded its forced re-education programmes of deported children. U.S. first lady Melania Trump has advocated for their release and has been in touch with Putin's team as part of her work.
    (Production: Cecile Mantovani)
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