Key Events of August 2026

In August 2026, Ukraine continued its efforts to return children illegally deported or forcibly transferred by Russia, as well as those remaining in temporarily occupied territories.

This month, 103 children were brought back. The total number of returned children rose to 2,525.

Key developments in August:

🔹 Lithuania allocated €600,000 to seven Ukrainian civil society organizations to support the return and rehabilitation of children, assist families, and document war crimes.

🔹 New Zealand became the 51st member of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.

🔹 Ukrainian diplomats agreed to systematically strengthen international advocacy for the return of children, expand the Coalition, and support the relevant UN General Assembly resolution.

🔹 Bring Kids Back UA and the Office of the Prosecutor General brought together 50 representatives of government institutions, civil society, human rights organizations, and international partners to improve coordination in documenting crimes against Ukrainian children.

🔹 Ukraine charged four individuals in connection with the deportation of 53 children from occupied Donetsk and Makiivka. None of these children has yet returned to Ukraine, and 28 are reportedly believed to have been transferred to Russian families.

🔹 A child who had been listed as missing since 2022 was identified as serving in the Russian army. According to Back to Ukraine, this is the first documented case of its kind involving a child listed in the “Children of War” register.

🔹 The EU was preparing new sanctions against 27 Russian individuals and legal entities over their alleged involvement in the deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.

🔹 Meetings and public initiatives continued in Kyiv and abroad, drawing attention to children’s experiences following deportation, occupation, and return. These included the multimedia exhibition Field of Memory, dedicated to the killing and deportation of Ukrainian children, indoctrination, and the destruction of Ukrainian identity.

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children remain under Russian control.

There can be no just and lasting peace without the return of Ukrainian children.