Iryna Tuliakova

One of the most grievous crimes Russians have committed during their full-scale war against Ukraine strikes at the most vulnerable part of society — children, who have become Russian assets, stripped of their home, their family, their language, and the life they once knew. The emotions you feel when you see them — each of the now 2,100 who have returned — are nearly impossible to put into words. You see a child who has lived through a harrowing experience and is now trying to rebuild their life

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, one of its most disturbing and least visible crimes has targeted Ukraine’s most vulnerable: our children. Under occupation, Russia has orchestrated the forced transfer of thousands of Ukrainian children into Russia or Russian-controlled territories. There, they face illegal adoption, involuntary Russian citizenship, and aggressive assimilation designed to sever their ties to Ukraine. This is not a humanitarian crisis — it is a war crime. And the world h