UN General Assembly votes to demand Russia return deported Ukrainian children without conditions

A resolution passed by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) is demanding that Russia immediately, safely, and unconditionally return all Ukrainian children it forcibly transferred or deported since the start of its war against Ukraine. The measure condemns not just the physical displacement, but also efforts to indoctrinate, change citizenship, and erase the identities of these children.

The UNGA resolution acknowledges that Russia’s unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children is the subject of ongoing international legal proceedings. It supports the work of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children and emphasizes the importance of rehabilitation and reintegration, including access to healthcare, psychological support, and education.

UN resolution demands Russia return deported Ukrainian children

The resolution, adopted on 3 December 2025 with 91 votes in favor, 12 against, and 57 abstentions, was passed during the 11th Emergency Special Session on Aggression against Ukraine. 

• Countries voting against were Russia, Belarus, Iran, North Korea, Nicaragua, Cuba, Eritrea, Sudan, Niger, Burkina Faso, Burundi, and Mali. 
• Abstaining nations included China, India, Brazil, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Qatar, and Pakistan. 
• 30 countries didn't vote, including South Korea, and Russian-leaning Türkiye, Serbia, and Azerbaijan.

The resolution asserts that Russia’s deportations of Ukrainian children violate the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, which prohibit the forced movement of protected persons from occupied territory. It condemns Moscow’s legislative and administrative actions since 2022 that ease the path to Russian citizenship for Ukrainian minors — especially orphans, children without parental care, and unaccompanied children.

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The General Assembly also denounced the separation of children from legal guardians and any subsequent "forced change of children’s personal status, their citizenship, adoption or placement in foster families, and efforts to indoctrinate them." The resolution urges Russia to cease such practices immediately and demands access for UN agencies and other international bodies to verify the condition and location of the affected children.

"The General Assembly has sent a strong message: the world will not tolerate the forcible transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha believes. 

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Presenting the resolution on behalf of Ukraine, Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa told the UN General Assembly that the deportation of Ukrainian children is not a political issue but a matter of moral duty and basic human rights. 

“This resolution is about humanity. [...] This resolution is about our moral obligation to bring every Ukrainian child home,” she said.

Betsa accused Russia of turning Ukrainian children into “the most vulnerable targets of aggression.” She cited numerous abuses including killings, injuries, torture, rape, and abductions. According to Betsa, Russia has deported at least 20,000 children since the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022. Ukraine has managed to return just over 1,850 of them.

She warned that Russian authorities are attempting to erase Ukrainian identity by banning Ukrainian language, literature, and history, targeting teachers and parents, and forcing children to repeat propaganda that portrays Ukraine as a "Nazi state." She added that children are being put through military and ideological training, including in so-called “children’s armies.”

Betsa stressed that the resolution reaffirms the UN Charter and international law, condemns the destruction of children’s identities, and demands accountability for those responsible. 

“Our children are not subjects of negotiation. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are not subject to compromise. The UN Charter and justice are not subject to compromise,” she said.