March 8, 2026
No peace in Ukraine until Russia returns its children
Every serious peace process begins with a test of credibility. Before borders are frozen, guarantees extended, or sanctions eased, negotiators must determine whether the parties are willing and able to comply with the most basic obligations of peace.
In Ukraine, that test is clear: Will Russia return the Ukrainian children it has abducted?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently told a Senate hearing that the territorial status of Ukraine’s Donbas region is the final issue remaining unresolved in the peace negotiations. But that claim gives false hope and ignores one of the issues most important to the American public, across bipartisan lines and championed by a broad coalition of faith communities: the return of Ukraine’s abducted and forcibly assimilated children.
This is not a marginal humanitarian concern. It is the most direct measure of whether Russia intends to honor any future settlement at all.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian children remain unaccounted for after being forcibly transferred to the Russian Federation or placed under Russian control. Additionally, an estimated 1.6 million children are living in temporarily occupied territories, where Russia has constructed extensive systems of indoctrination, militarization and legal erasure.