September 29, 2026
Building a pathway to peace: Working together to return Ukrainian children, detained civilians and prisoners of war
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Every morning at 9:00 am, Ukraine stops, write Mariana Betsa, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Eivind Vad Petersson, State Secretary to the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs and David Angell, Associate Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs at Global Affairs Canada.
Across cities in Ukraine, loudspeakers normally used to warn of incoming Russian air strikes broadcast the steady tick of a clock.
City streets full of life fall silent.
Traffic lights turn red. Cars stop.
For one minute, a country pauses.
This is Ukraine’s daily moment of silence, a nationwide act of remembrance for those killed in Russia’s illegal war. In workplaces, homes, schools, markets and on highways, Ukrainians pause to honour those who gave their lives defending their country’s sovereignty and freedom, and remember the thousands of civilians whose lives have been lost to Russia’s aggression.
The silence also mirrors the absence felt by thousands of families whose loved ones have yet to come home.
Among them are the thousands of Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred and unlawfully deported by Russia over the course of its war. Separated from their families and communities, many have had parts of their core identity stripped away: their language, their culture, and even their names.