Latest News

• January 6: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is urging the International Criminal Court to consider the actions of the Russian leadership in forcibly conferring Russian Federation citizenship upon deported Ukrainian children, highlighting this as one of the indicators of genocide. The ministry underscored that such a “normative legal act” egregiously contravenes Ukrainian legislation, international legal norms, and the rights of children who are citizens of Ukraine.
• January 4: Putin signed Order No. 11, titled “On the determination of specific categories of foreign citizens and stateless persons eligible to apply for Russian Federation citizenship.” According to the order, orphans, and children without parental care who are citizens of Ukraine can be granted Russian citizenship at the personal discretion of President Putin. This applies irrespective of any or all requirements outlined in federal legislation.
• January 3: Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk stated that nearly 2,000 deported children have been repatriated to Ukraine from Russia via the Kolotylivka-Pokrovka checkpoint. This achievement reflects the outcomes of the past five months since the establishment of this checkpoint along the border with Russia.
• December 31: Ukraine repatriated a 17-year-old boy who had been deported to Russia from Mariupol in April 2022. He was part of a group comprising mainly orphans or those lacking parental care, totaling 31 individuals. His successful return marks the fifth instance within the Mariupol children’s group who have been brought back.
• December 23: Amidst the Grand Central, New York, the Ukrainian choir sang Christmas songs, holding signs about the deported: “19,546 missing Ukrainian children won’t be home for the holidays.” 
• December 22: Ukraine repatriated a 12-year-old boy who had spent a year and a half under occupation and was later deported to Russia. Prior to the full-scale invasion, the boy had initially visited his father in the Luhansk region for a brief period but ended up staying for 18 months, living under occupation. Subsequently, for the following four months, he found himself in the Russian Federation, where he was compelled to attend a Russian school.
• December 20: The UN has passed a revised resolution denouncing the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia and Belarus. The UN General Assembly is calling for the immediate cessation by the Russian Federation of the systematic infringement upon the rights of individuals residing in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. This includes: 1) the compelled relocation or deportation of Ukrainian children and other civilians; and 2) the implementation of all essential measures for their secure repatriation and family reunification.

Advocacy advances

1. Ombudsman Lubinets revealed the inner workings of the Child Rights Protection Center, shedding light on its efforts in repatriating deported Ukrainian children and facilitating their reintegration.
2. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, participated in the first founding meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, illegally deported and forcibly relocated to the Russian Federation from the temporarily occupied territories of our country. This is a high-level event, which was attended by 72 representatives of other countries and international organizations.

Materials we facilitated

• An article about the history of Ukrainians celebrating Christmas in deportation
  https://espreso.tv/svyato-u-voroga-drugiy-rik-pospil-deportovani-ukrainski-diti-znakhodyatsya-u-rosii
• A press release about Christmas campaign initiated by Where Are Our People? Team about deported Ukrainian children
  https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/news/binary-news-network/pr-army-initiated-a-global-campaign-to-commemorate-ukrainians-deported-to-the-russian-federation
• An article about Russia’s re-education programs directed at deported Ukrainian children
  https://www.pravda.com.ua/columns/2023/12/23/7434260/
• A radio talk with our researcher Vladyslav Havrylov about the prospects of deported Ukrainian children
  https://hromadske.radio/podcasts/my-ie-buly-y-budem-informatsiynyy-maraton/deportatsiia-ditey-ne-ie-kintsem-zlochynu-dali-vidbuvaietsia-militaryzatsiia-ta-rusyfikatsiia-vladyslav-havrylov
• Our researcher Vladyslav Havrylov spoke with a report about Russia’s deportation of Ukrainians at Japan-Ukraine scientific conference
  https://ivinas.gov.ua/novini/yaponskoukrainskyi-spilnyi-doslidnytskyi-proekt-daleki-ta-blyzki-partnery-yaponiia-ta-ukraina-istorychni-peredumovy-vyklyky-ta-perspektyvy.html

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