Key Events of September 2026

In September 2026, Ukraine continued its efforts to return children unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred by Russia, as well as those trapped in temporarily occupied territories, while strengthening international cooperation, sanctions pressure, legal accountability, reintegration support and global advocacy.

This month, 132 children were returned, bringing the total number of returned children to 2,657.

Key developments in September 2026:

🔹 On 28–29 September, Canada, Ukraine and Norway co-hosted the second international Pathways to Peace conference in Toronto, bringing together 83 delegations. A total of 54 states and international organisations endorsed the Joint Communiqué, including the Toronto Pledge, committing to concrete measures to facilitate returns, strengthen reintegration and advance international cooperation. Honduras joined the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children as its 52nd member.

🔹 At the Toronto conference, Canada announced nearly CAD 7 million in funding, including support for efforts to prevent child deportation and militarisation, strengthen Ukrainian civil society and develop reintegration services. Norway allocated approximately USD 25 million to UNICEF and the International Committee of the Red Cross to support family tracing and humanitarian assistance.

🔹 At the UN General Assembly, a report by Georgetown University's International Criminal Justice Initiative highlighted the scale of Russia's systematic indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children. According to the research, approximately 1.6 million Ukrainian children in occupied territories are exposed to these practices, including at least 582,600 school-aged children subjected to Russian-controlled curricula and youth organisations. The report supported examining these practices as potential crimes against humanity.

🔹 The European Union and Canada expanded sanctions against individuals and entities implicated in the deportation, forcible transfer and forced assimilation of Ukrainian children. On 28 September, the EU sanctioned 10 individuals and 17 entities, including institutions involved in children's transfers and militarised programmes. Earlier in the month, Canada sanctioned eight senior Russian figures.

🔹 On 18 September, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 into law. The legislation explicitly identifies the forcible transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children among serious human rights abuses that may trigger sanctions, creating an additional legal mechanism for accountability.

🔹 On 22 September, the European Court of Human Rights held a public hearing concerning ten Ukrainian children taken from state care institutions in occupied Crimea. Russia has refused to disclose their whereabouts and subsequently listed them on a Russian adoption website. Ukraine called for full disclosure of information about the children and their safe return.

🔹 The Security Service of Ukraine notified two additional occupation officials of suspicion in connection with the deportation of 31 Ukrainian children from occupied Donetsk to Russia in 2022. According to investigators, the children were transferred to a facility near Moscow under the pretext of a health improvement programme.

🔹 Ukraine intensified parliamentary diplomacy on the return of children. Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Olena Kondratyuk, together with Bring Kids Back UA, launched a parliamentary diplomacy platform to provide Ukrainian lawmakers with verified information, legal expertise and analysis for international advocacy. Discussions with European Parliament representatives also addressed stronger sanctions and accountability measures.

🔹 Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's Commissioner for Children's Rights and subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, acknowledged that 380 Ukrainian children from occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions had been placed with Russian families. She also confirmed that photographs of these children were deliberately blurred online to obstruct Ukrainian efforts to locate them.

🔹 At a hearing of the Parliamentary Network on Ukrainian Children in Paris on 16 September, representatives of PACE, the UN, Ukrainian authorities and international justice institutions emphasised the importance of tracing every deported Ukrainian child and turning documented evidence into concrete action on return and accountability.

🔹 On 10 September, the Lost Childhood exhibition opened in Accra, Ghana, bringing together Ukrainian and Ghanaian artists to raise international awareness of Russia's deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children. The exhibition was organised by the Embassy of Ukraine in Ghana and Svitanok LBG, with international partners' support.

As of September 2026, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine had officially confirmed 20,651 cases of deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children. The real number is likely much higher.

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children remain under Russian control.

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