U.S. Selects Organization to Implement $12 Million for Reintegration of Returned Ukrainian Children

On September 24, on the margins of the UN General Assembly, at an event on deported and forcibly displaced Ukrainian children and on Russia's militarization and indoctrination of Ukrainian children, representatives of the U.S. Department of State announced that the $25 million program to trace, return and reintegrate Ukrainian children, announced earlier this year, is moving into implementation. For its first component, $12 million for the reintegration of children returned from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and from Russia, an implementing organization has been selected. Next week, the State Department will open a new competition to implement $15 Million for tracing, identifying and returning children.

"Sincerely grateful to the United States for the continued strong support for the return, rehabilitation and full reintegration of Ukrainian children and youth. The announcement today of a $12 million program for these efforts — along with the upcoming $15 million program for their identification and return — will help support our coordinated efforts and ensure full accountability," said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha.

"Bring Kids Back UA welcomes the progress in implementing the US State Department program to trace, return, and rehabilitate Ukrainian children. Coordination among all actors is critical to its success. This result builds on our long-standing work with the State Department and the US Congress. We thank Congress for its strong bipartisan engagement, which helped make this program possible." said Maksym Maksymov, Head of Bring Kids Back UA.

"The forced transfer and detention of Ukrainian children by Russia is among the most horrifying crimes committed in this war. We are deeply grateful to the United States for recognizing the scale and gravity of this issue and for continuing to support concrete efforts by the Government of Ukraine, particularly President Zelenskyy's Bring Kids Back UA initiative. The assistance announced by the United States is an important contribution to identifying and locating our children, bringing them home, and providing the rehabilitation, care, and support they need to safely reintegrate with their families and communities. Our joint efforts must continue until every Ukrainian child is found, returned safely, and reunited with their family," said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Senik.