On August 24, the First Lady of Lithuania, Diana Nausėdienė, announced the launch of the project “Children Above All. Protecting Ukraine’s Future,” aimed at assisting in the return of Ukrainian children who were forcibly relocated or deported to Russia.
This was reported by a Suspilne correspondent.
Within the framework of the project, Lithuania will provide grants totaling 600,000 euros to non-governmental organizations involved in the return of children, documentation of war crimes against them, protection of their rights, and rehabilitation after their return.
“Children cannot be used as instruments of war or occupation. Their identities cannot be forcibly rewritten. Their family ties cannot be inconvenient. Their future must not belong to the occupying authorities. Lithuania will defend these principles steadfastly and uncompromisingly,” emphasized Diana Nausėdienė at the project presentation at the Lithuanian Embassy in Kyiv.
The Lithuanian government plans to raise over an additional 4 million euros for projects focused on protecting the rights and supporting Ukrainian children, implementing them independently or in cooperation with Ukrainian authorities.
Šarūnas Riadvilavičius, head of the Ukrainian branch of the Central Lithuanian Project Management Agency, explained that the assistance includes temporary housing for families, social and medical services, and the reconstruction of a children’s hospital.
On August 17, it became known that the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, facilitated the reunion of another child with their family, from whom they were separated due to Russia’s war against Ukraine. The White House stated that her efforts have helped reunite a total of 34 children and families.
What is known about Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children
The Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Daria Herasymchuk, previously informed that as of the end of March 2023, Ukrainian authorities were aware of over 19,500 children taken from temporarily occupied territories to Russia. Their exact count is difficult to ascertain due to the occupation conditions.
On April 5, 2023, 49 countries issued a joint statement condemning the Russian Federation for organizing a Security Council meeting regarding the alleged legal grounds for abducting Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories. Great Britain blocked the broadcast of the speech by Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, on UN resources, calling for her to answer for her actions in court in The Hague.
The Prosecutor General’s Office indicated that there is currently no single transparent algorithm or mechanism that enables the return of Ukrainian children deported to Russia.
On March 17, 2023, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of illegal deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children.
On February 17, 2026, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that 2,000 Ukrainian children had been successfully returned to Ukraine.
As of early July 2026, according to official Ukrainian data, over 20,000 Ukrainian children ended up in Russia and occupied territories during the full-scale war. The Ministry of Justice registry indicates that 2,368 children forcibly relocated to the Russian Federation since the start of the full-scale war have been returned to Ukraine. Over 500 children have been returned since the beginning of 2026.
Source: suspilne.media