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Bring Kids Back UA Urges British Parliament to Counter Russia’s Militarization of Ukrainian Children
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Bring Kids Back UA appealed to the UK Parliament in London on November 11 to counter Russia’s systematic pipeline from childhood indoctrination to military service.
This was reported by the initiative in a statement dated November 12. The statement described a briefing for members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, chaired by Johanna Baxter MP.
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The group’s Head, Maksym Maksymov, presented the initiative. Vladyslav, who was held in Russian captivity at the age of 16, and Olena Rozvadovska, co-founder of the Voices of Children Foundation, also spoke.
According to the statement, Ukraine has verified 20,651 cases of unlawful deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children by Russia. Around 1.6 million children remain in temporarily occupied territories, where Russia systematically pursues indoctrination and militarization, it noted. Ukraine has brought 2,808 children home.
“Russia has built a pipeline that begins with propaganda in kindergarten, continues through militarized education and paramilitary programs, and prepares children for service in the Russian army,” Maksymov stated. “This system is designed to turn Ukrainian children into manpower for the Russian war machine. That is why countering it is a security issue not only for Ukraine.”
Vladyslav described how the occupation of Melitopol reached his school. The statement added that he spent 90 days in captivity for refusing to submit. “Help Ukraine bring its children home. Don’t let Russia steal an entire generation of our children,” he told parliamentarians.
Rozvadovska stressed that reintegration is a long-term process of restoring a child’s safety, trust and right to determine their own future. She added that it therefore requires stable, multi-year funding, and that children and young people must take part in every decision affecting them.
The statement also carried a comment from Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, Special Envoy of the Council of Europe Secretary General on the Situation of Children of Ukraine. She described the indoctrination and militarization of Ukrainian children as a deliberate attempt to sever their ties with families, language and country. Gylfadóttir warned that Ukraine cannot address the problem alone.
Bring Kids Back UA was launched by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in May 2023. It brings together state institutions, civil society and international partners across five areas: search and verification, rescue and return, reintegration and rehabilitation, international advocacy, and justice and accountability.
The group thanked the UK for its leadership, citing measures already attributed to it: £7 million (approximately $9.2 million) for the search, return and reintegration of children; sanctions against 44 individuals and 15 entities; and support for the initiative from more than 100 parliamentarians.
Separately, Bring Kids Back UA outlined five ways Parliament could continue supporting Ukrainian children. These were framed as proposals, and the statement did not describe any of them as adopted:
keeping the return of Ukrainian children, and countering their indoctrination and militarization by Russia, on Parliament’s agenda;
supporting multi-year funding for the search, return and reintegration of children;
expanding sanctions against those responsible and coordinating them with international partners;
supporting investigations by Ukraine’s national law enforcement agencies and the International Criminal Court;
insisting on the unconditional return of children as part of any peace negotiations.
The statement did not report any new funding, sanctions or other commitments from parliamentarians at the briefing.
The briefing follows a run of Western moves to raise the cost of Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian children. On September 29, the EU announced sanctions against 27 more individuals and entities involved in the deportation, forcible transfer and indoctrination of Ukrainian children, at a Toronto conference co-hosted by Canada, Norway and Ukraine.
On October 1, the UK sanctioned seven individuals over the indoctrination and militarization of children, including those deported by Russian authorities, and put at about 6,000 the number of Ukrainian children forcibly relocated to so-called “re-education” camps.
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