Seven children were returned from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine with the help of US First Lady Melania Trump. The youngest is 13 years old.
This was reported by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Dmytro Lubinets.
Dmytro Lubinets told the stories of some children.
- In the temporarily occupied Kherson region, a 13-year-old boy was left alone after losing both parents. He was placed in a social rehabilitation center, where he is finally safe and can be with his sister.
- Two brothers, aged 13 and 16, also survived the death of their parents. Despite psychological pressure from the occupation services, who tried to change their decision, the boys insisted on being reunited with their sister. They are now under her care and protection.
- A 14-year-old boy has finally been reunited with his mother after more than four years of separation.
Lubinets reported that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 2,070 children have been returned.
On April 2, it became known that US First Lady Melania Trump has expedited the return of Ukrainian children to their families for the fourth time – six minor Ukrainians currently living in Russia will return to their families in Ukraine. Another child will be returned home later, in April.
What is known about the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia?
Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Daria Gerasymchuk previously reported that as of the end of March 2023, the Ukrainian authorities were aware of more than 19,500 children taken from the TOT to Russia, but it was difficult to accurately count them due to the occupation.
On April 5, 2023, 49 countries in a joint statement condemned the Russian Federation for organizing a Security Council meeting on the alleged legal grounds for the abduction of Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories. The United Kingdom blocked the broadcast of the speech of the Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights Lvova-Belova on UN resources, calling on her to be held accountable for her actions before the court in The Hague.
The Prosecutor General's Office indicated that there is currently no single transparent algorithm or mechanism that makes it possible to return Ukrainian children deported to Russia.
On March 17, 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of the illegal deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children.
On September 23, 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that 1,625 Ukrainian children had been returned to Ukraine.