Independent experts appointed under the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Moscow Mechanism presented a report to the OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday, July 9, concluding that Russia has systematically militarized and indoctrinated Ukrainian children in violation of international law.
According to the OSCE, the report, titled Report on Violations and Abuses of International Humanitarian, Human Rights and Criminal Law related to Militarization and Indoctrination of Ukrainian Children by the Russian Federation, was presented in Vienna by Professor Hervé Ascensio, Dr. Elīna Šteinerte and Professor Stefan Wolff.
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The three experts were appointed after 41 OSCE participating States, in consultation with Ukraine, invoked the Moscow Mechanism on May 14, 2026, to investigate Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian children, including in temporarily occupied territories.
The mission examined allegations involving the forcible transfer and unlawful deportation of children, coercion, intimidation, unlawful detention, illegal adoptions, ill-treatment and other forms of violence. It also reviewed Russian legislation and school curricula introduced in occupied Ukrainian territories.
“The experts were tasked to ‘build upon previous findings’” and assess whether Russia’s actions amount to “a coordinated and systematic policy” aimed at erasing the Ukrainian identity of children, including through illegal adoptions, changes to nationality and conditioning children for service to the occupying power, the report said.
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Findings on militarization and identity
The report also assessed the impact of these practices on children’s rights, including the rights to life, development, education, health, family life, equality and protection from violence.
The experts were further instructed to determine whether Russia’s policies violate OSCE commitments, international humanitarian law and international human rights law, while documenting patterns of abuse affecting Ukrainian children.
Recommendations for accountability
The report calls for urgent measures to protect affected children and recommends strengthening international accountability mechanisms for crimes committed against them.
It also urges OSCE participating States and institutions to support documentation efforts, child protection initiatives, the return and reintegration of Ukrainian children, and broader international cooperation aimed at ending impunity for crimes committed against children.
In June, Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said Russia has killed 707 Ukrainian children, injured 2,548 others and left 2,318 missing since 2022. He warned that the total is likely higher due to limited access to occupied territories, and he reiterated calls for the return of deported Ukrainian children.
According to him, the youngest confirmed victim was a two-day-old baby who was killed in a maternity hospital.
“These figures may be significantly higher because we still do not know the full truth from the temporarily occupied territories,” Lubinets said.
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