The UN General Assembly has taken another principled step in the fight for the return of Ukrainian children who have been illegally relocated and deported by Russia.

On December 3, 2025, during the 11th emergency special session, a resolution titled "Return of Ukrainian Children" was adopted, a document that establishes a clear international legal framework for further actions.

This decision is a signal that the world sees the crime against Ukrainian children, understands its scale, and demands an immediate response. 

What the resolution entails

The UN General Assembly demands that Russia:

immediately and unconditionally return all Ukrainian children that it has forcibly taken;
cease practices of changing citizenship, illegal adoption, and transferring children to Russian families. These actions are defined by international law as attempts to destroy their national identity.

For the first time at the level of the UN Secretary-General, the necessity has been established:

to provide international access to information about illegally relocated children, including their whereabouts, health status, and conditions of detention.

This is critically important for us, as it is impossible to return a child without even knowing where they are and in what condition.

The resolution was supported by 91 states, confirming that the issue of Ukrainian children has become one of the key markers for assessing Russian aggression.

Countries unequivocally recognize: the deportation of children is a war crime that has no statute of limitations and cannot be justified under any circumstances. 

Why this is important for the prosecution

The return of illegally taken children is one of the most important areas of work for the Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine.

It is the prosecutors who:

• document the war crime of deportation, recording facts of relocation, changes of citizenship, and illegal adoption;
• form an evidentiary base that is submitted to the International Criminal Court and international partners;
• identify children and establish their routes of relocation, cooperating with foreign law enforcement agencies and international organizations;
• ensure international coordination, constantly raising the issue of deportations in meetings with international colleagues;
• create legal grounds for pressure on the Russian Federation, using the resolution as an international tool.
  

The more states recognize the illegal relocation of children as a war crime and an element of the policy to destroy the Ukrainian nation, the faster real mechanisms for influencing Russia and returning the children will be established. 

The scale of the tragedy documented by our juvenile prosecutors is staggering:

• 19,546 children – officially verified as deported or forcibly relocated (data from the "Children of War" portal).
• 661 children have died as a result of armed aggression by the Russian Federation.
• More than 2,200 children have sustained injuries of varying severity.
• Currently, only 1,876 children have been able to return home, highlighting the critical need for international pressure.

The Office of the Prosecutor General is conducting procedural oversight in over 5,363 criminal proceedings regarding crimes against children. Each case of deportation, forced registration, or name change is a separate episode in a larger case of genocide and war crimes that have no statute of limitations. 

Thus, for the Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine, this resolution has direct practical significance, as it:

• strengthens the international legal framework that the prosecution can rely on in criminal proceedings regarding war crimes related to the deportation and forced relocation of children;
• confirms international recognition of the crime, which is important for gathering evidence, international legal assistance, and further holding the guilty accountable;
• facilitates access to information about illegally relocated children through UN mechanisms, which significantly helps in establishing their fate and returning them;
• strengthens Ukraine's position in international judicial institutions, particularly in the International Criminal Court.