On 11 May 2026, the High-Level Meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children took place in Brussels, co-hosted by Ukraine, Canada, and the European Union. The meeting was attended by delegations from 63 countries and international organisations.

The meeting was opened by video addresses from the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. In his address, President Zelenskyy emphasised that the deportation of Ukrainian children cannot be treated as a local problem and demands a response from the entire international community:

“How did it become possible for Russians to simply abduct tens of thousands of children, hide them, tear them away from their families, and then teach them to hate the very country they were abducted from? When a country becomes such an evil force, a force that does not stop even at destroying the lives of children, this cannot be treated as just a regional problem, something happening somewhere far away. If a country commits such crimes against children, it means it is capable of any crime. And that is exactly why this challenge requires a global response.”

Programmatic statements were also delivered by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Anita Anand, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha. In total, more than 50 representatives of states and international organisations took the floor.

The objective of the meeting was to keep the deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children at the centre of international attention and to strengthen collective efforts to secure the safe return of children unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred by the Russian Federation in the course of its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.

The High-Level Meeting was preceded by the Civil Society and Expert Day (30 April 2026, Kyiv), which brought together Ukrainian and international civil society organisations, the expert community, and young people with personal experience of deportation. The Day produced a Joint Civil Society Statement with 12 concrete calls to Coalition members — ranging from political and economic pressure on Russia to sustainable funding for reintegration and the protection of those who search for and return children. The Statement served as a direct contribution from the expert community to the substance of the 11 May discussions and was delivered to participants of the High-Level Meeting through the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

Speaking in Brussels, Minister Andrii Sybiha stressed that international efforts must inevitably be measured by concrete results, not statements:

“We speak not only about returning children — we speak about a triple return. Return every child, return Ukraine to every child, and return childhood to these children. Statements are not enough. Words of empathy are not enough. Actions, both political and legal, are needed to ensure accountability and bring our kids back home. And of course, the best thing we can bring to our children is peace.”

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas characterised the deportation as a deliberate state policy of the Russian Federation aimed at destroying Ukraine's future generation:

“Of all the horrors of Russia's war, the deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children is one of its worst crimes. Stealing children is not incidental. It is a deliberate Russian policy, a calculated attack on Ukraine's future. Over 20,000 Ukrainian children remain trapped in Russia or in Russian-occupied territories. They have been torn from their families, stripped of their names, language and identity, and this is a criminal attempt to erase Ukraine's future generation. Bringing these children home is a priority. The aim must be to locate and return every child deported and transferred to Russia.”

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos emphasised that the scale and nature of the crime extends far beyond the Ukrainian or European context:

“Removing children from their parents and their homes, taking them to a foreign country for adoption or into ideological camps, is a practice associated with imperialism and totalitarian repression. We know from the past — it is a crime that touches us all, regardless of geography or politics. It is a crime that merits a stronger and collective international response.”

Participants reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to protect Ukrainian children in line with international humanitarian law and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and emphasised that deportation and forcible transfer are part of a broader systemic pattern of Russian policy in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Anita Anand, as co-chair of the Coalition, reaffirmed Canada's unwavering role in this initiative:

“My sincere thanks to all members and supporters of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children. We welcome especially those who are considering joining the coalition as well. We are so honoured to chair this coalition with Ukraine. And it was created with a clear purpose. As you know, it was created to help secure the return of Ukrainian children who have been unlawfully deported and forcibly transferred by Russia.”

Minister Anand also announced that Canada will host the next Canada-Ukraine-Norway Conference in Toronto on 28–29 September 2026, immediately following the UN General Assembly.

During the meeting, the accession of new members to the Coalition was announced — Cyprus and Switzerland. With these decisions, the Coalition now comprises 49 members.

Key Outcomes and Commitments

(I) Expanding Tracing and Data Verification. Participants supported the transition of the Pilot Tracing Mechanism into a permanent national capability under the leadership of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. Financial, technical, and expert support will be provided by the participating countries of the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine (PFRU) — the United Kingdom, Canada, Estonia, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, and Sweden. the United Kingdom announced an additional £1.2 million for tracing and verification — including £600,000 for the Verification Centre and £600,000 for the Ukrainian Tracing Programme.

(II) Scaling Up Organised Returns. The United States confirmed a $25 million programme to support the identification, return, and rehabilitation of deported children through Ukrainian civil society; Lithuania announced a separate dedicated call for civil society organisations working on the facilitation of returns and accountability; Germany announced €1.4 million for the Ukrainian NGO .

(III) Strengthening the UN Diplomatic Track. Participants agreed to develop a shared strategy of the Coalition for the implementation of UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/ES-11/9 “Return of Ukrainian Children” (adopted on 3 December 2025). Coalition members committed to aligning political messaging, actively engaging UN actors and fora, and recording instances of Russian obstruction as non-implementation of the resolution.

(IV) Reinforcing Reintegration and Rehabilitation. The European Union announced €50 million in support of Ukraine's child protection system. Lithuania announced €10 million through the Joint Declaration on the Protection, Return, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration of Ukrainian Children, signed by the Foreign Ministers of Ukraine and Lithuania — in particular for the search, return, and rehabilitation of children. Germany announced €1.4 million for a Ukrainian civil society organisation working with returned children and their families. A number of Coalition members — including Slovenia, Croatia, and Georgia — confirmed the continuation of rehabilitation programmes and summer camp stays for Ukrainian children. Croatia reported developing a dedicated rehabilitation programme for returned children and their families.

(V) Advancing Accountability. Participants underlined a holistic approach to holding Russia accountable. Canada announced CAD 3.4 million for the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, with support extended for the next two years. Canada also ratified the Convention establishing the International Claims Commission for Ukraine, becoming the first country outside Europe to join this mechanism.

(VI) Coordinating Sanctions. Participants agreed to move from parallel unilateral measures to coordinated sanctions packages, synchronised in scope and timing across the jurisdictions of Coalition members. During the meeting, the largest sanctions package to datetargeting individuals and entities involved in the deportation, indoctrination, and militarised education of Ukrainian children was announced: the European Union — Council Decision (CFSP) 2026/1072 (16 persons and 7 entities); the United Kingdom — 12 persons and 17 entities; Canada — 23 persons and 5 entities. Norway confirmed its commitment to align with the EU sanctions package.

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Within the framework of the High-Level Meeting, two cultural events took place, drawing attention to the human dimension of the tragedy of the deportation of Ukrainian children.

The screening of the documentary film “After the Rain: Putin's Stolen Children Come Home” (2024), directed by Sara McCarthy, a two-time Academy Award winner, took place in the cinema room of the Berlaymont building. The film tells the story of several Ukrainian children unlawfully deported by Russia who later managed to return home and begin a process of recovery at an animal-assisted therapy retreat in Estonia. The screening was accompanied by a panel discussion with the director, Belén López Garrido (Editorial Manager for News Strategy & Development, European Broadcasting Union), Member of the European Parliament Thijs Reuten, and Ukrainian representatives.

The “Empty Beds” installation by Bird of Light Ukraine was presented within the High-Level Reception on the Piazza of the Berlaymont building. The reception was hosted by EU Commissioner Marta Kos, with a presentation of the installation by the exhibition lead Zhanna Galeyeva. This public art installation draws attention to the thousands of Ukrainian children forcibly taken from their homes during the war.

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The International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children was launched in Kyiv in February 2024 by Ukraine and Canada. Estimates suggest that more than one million Ukrainian children remain in the temporarily occupied territories under Russian control. The exact number of those deported and forcibly transferred remains unknown, as only Russia knows how many Ukrainian children it has abducted and refuses to disclose this data.

The deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children are not a side effect of war but a component of Russia's systemic genocidal policy, aimed at erasing Ukrainian identity and severing children's ties to Ukraine.

The Brussels meeting is a step in the Coalition's transition from political solidarity to concrete action. Every commitment announced by member states translates into a new chance for a specific child to be found, returned, and recovered.