Russia says Ukraine has not provided list of allegedly abducted children

Russia says Ukraine has not provided list of allegedly abducted children
Kateryna Rashevska displays photos of abducted Ukrainian children at a U.S. Senate hearing, 3 December, 2025.
Reuters

Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova says the Kyiv authorities have still not provided Moscow with a list of thousands of Ukrainian children it claims were illegally taken to Russia, despite the issue being raised during talks in Istanbul.

In an interview with the Russian state news agency TASS, Moskalkova commented on allegations that Russia forcibly removed Ukrainian children during the conflict. She said Russia had rescued children from active combat zones and rejected claims of unlawful deportations.

Moskalkova stated that in cases where parents said their children were in Russia, “almost all” such requests had been addressed and the children returned to Ukraine. According to her, Russia has cooperated whenever families came forward with concrete information.

She said that as a result of the Istanbul talks, Ukraine was asked to provide lists of children it believes are in Russia illegally. “Ukraine was requested to submit the names of children it believes are unfairly and unlawfully in Russia. We still do not have this list of the thousands of people mentioned,” Moskalkova said.

During the Türkiye-Russia-Ukraine trilateral meeting held in Istanbul in June, the Ukrainian delegation handed the Russian side a list containing the names of 339 children it wanted returned.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry later said it could not verify around 30% of the names on that list, adding that a significant number of those included were adults who had never been in Russia.

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