The United States Department of State has announced the launch of a new program aimed at supporting the return and rehabilitation of Ukrainian children who were forcibly taken from Ukraine by Russia. A total of $25 million has been allocated for these purposes.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Program Goals and Funding Directions
The American diplomatic agency emphasizes that this initiative is taking place in close collaboration with the U.S. Congress. The primary goal is to assist in the identification, return, and subsequent rehabilitation of Ukrainian children and youth who have been forcibly separated from their families or relocated to territories controlled by Russia.
“In coordination with Congress, the Department of State is providing new assistance of $25 million to support the identification, return, and rehabilitation of Ukrainian children and youth who have been forcibly displaced or otherwise separated from their families and communities,” states the diplomatic agency.
The funding is directed towards two main areas. First, the money will support verified partners in the process of searching for and identifying children who have been forcibly taken from their homes. The State Department notes that this is an important step for the further implementation of diplomatic and humanitarian efforts to return the children.
Second, the funds are intended to provide support to the Ukrainian government and local partners in implementing care and rehabilitation programs for children who have returned home. This will allow children to receive the necessary assistance to restore their normal lives and integrate into society.
Scale of Deportation and International Response
According to official data from Ukraine, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, over 20,000 Ukrainian children have found themselves in Russia or in temporarily occupied territories. The Ombudsman of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, suggests that the total number of illegally taken children may reach around 150,000. The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Daria Gerasimchuk, has even reported “hundreds of thousands,” meaning between 200,000 and 300,000 children.
The official initiative of the president, Bring Kids Back UA, reported in February 2026 that Ukraine has managed to return 2,000 children from deportation and rescue them from temporarily occupied territories.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova on suspicion of war crimes related to the forced deportation and displacement of populations, including children, from occupied territories of Ukraine.
At the same time, Russian Children’s Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova stated in the summer of 2023 that Russia has “accepted” about 4.8 million residents from Ukraine, of which over 700,000 are children, claiming that most of them arrived with parents or other relatives.
The U.S. Department of State emphasizes that American aid programs continue to support civilians affected by the actions of the Russian Federation, with a particular focus on the protection and rehabilitation of children, who have become some of the most vulnerable victims of the war.