Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia had proposed including deported Ukrainian children in prisoner exchange lists, calling the idea “unacceptable.”
“The fate of Ukrainian children will never become part of any compromise,” Sybiha said during a meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children in Brussels on Monday, according to state media Ukrinform.
“Russia has already proposed including children in exchange lists. But this is unacceptable. Children’s freedom is unconditional,” he added
Sybiha said the return of deported Ukrainian children must become a fundamental element of any future peace process.
According to him, Ukraine has managed to return more than 2,000 children, largely through the efforts of countries such as Qatar, the US and the Vatican, as well as Ukrainian state agencies and intelligence services.
He said existing international mechanisms had largely failed to secure their return.
The minister drew parallels between Russia’s deportation of Ukrainian children and crimes committed by Nazi Germany during World War II.
He cited testimonies from both a Ukrainian deported by the Nazis and a child taken from occupied Mariupol by Russian forces, noting the similarities in their words.
“They just took us away and told us we belonged to no one,” Sybiha quoted.
He also accused Russia of attempting to downplay the issue because Moscow “understands it is committing a crime and fears justice.”
On Monday, the UK and EU announced new sanctions targeting Russian individuals and entities involved in the deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children, as well as Kremlin-backed propaganda and influence operations.
The British government said it imposed sanctions on 85 individuals and organizations in what it described as one of its toughest crackdowns on hostile Russian activity to date. The EU separately sanctioned 16 individuals and 7 entities linked to the unlawful deportation, forced transfer and militarization of Ukrainian minors.
On April 11, Ukrainian authorities charged three people over the deportation of 35 children from the occupied Donetsk region to Russia, in a case Kyiv says amounts to a war crime.
According to investigators, the children, aged four to six, were taken from a state-run orphanage in Donetsk in February 2022, just days before Russia launched its full-scale invasion. They were transported to Russia’s Rostov region and later placed in local institutions.
Ukrainian authorities have opened thousands of cases related to the deportation of children since the start of the invasion, calling the issue one of the war’s gravest humanitarian consequences.
Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children is the basis for the arrest warrant for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).