European Parliament calls for Russia's actions against Ukrainian children to be recognised as genocide

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling for Russia's actions against Ukrainian children to be recognised as genocide and stressed that the return of children must not be used as a bargaining chip in peace negotiations.

As reported by a European Pravda correspondent in Brussels, the European Parliament has described Russia's abduction or unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children as genocide.

The resolution was supported by 536 MEPs, with only 8 voting against and 37 abstaining.

It states: "The European Parliament declares that Russia's actions against Ukrainian children meet the legal definition of genocide and calls on EU Member States to formally recognise them as such."

The resolution emphasises that the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines the forcible transfer of children from one national, ethnic, racial or religious group to another as an act constituting genocide when committed with the intent to destroy that group, in whole or in part.

The European Parliament demands that Russia immediately, safely and unconditionally return all deported and forcibly transferred Ukrainian children to Ukrainian government-controlled territory.

"The return of children is an obligation under international law and must never be used as a bargaining chip or made conditional on territorial concessions, prisoner exchanges or other political agreements," the resolution stresses.

"No lasting peace can disregard the rights of these children or the accountability of those responsible for violating them," MEPs stated.

According to figures cited in the resolution, more than 20,600 cases of deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children had been confirmed as of September 2026. As of 28 October, 2,752 children had been returned.

At the same time, MEPs estimate that about 1.6 million Ukrainian children are still living in Russian-occupied territories, where they are subjected to systematic Russification, indoctrination and militarisation.

In September 2023, the European Parliament called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for self-proclaimed Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko over the deportation of Ukrainian children.

In May 2025, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that described the actions being carried out by Russia, supported by Belarus, against abducted Ukrainian children with the aim of destroying their Ukrainian identity as a "genocidal strategy".

On 28 September 2026, the Council of the EU imposed sanctions on another 10 individuals and 17 organisations involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.