UN Assembly tells Russia to return 'captive' Ukrainian kids

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday called for the immediate and unconditional return of Ukrainian children "forcibly transferred" to Russia — a delicate issue as Kyiv and Moscow try to negotiate an end to the fighting.

The assembly adopted the non-binding resolution by a vote of 91-12, with 57 abstentions.

Russia was among the states rejecting the measure.

The resolution "demands that the Russian Federation ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported."

20,000 children

It also calls on Moscow to "cease, without delay, any further practice of forcible transfer, deportation, separation from families and legal guardians, change of personal status, including through citizenship, adoption or placement in foster families, and indoctrination of Ukrainian children."

Ukraine has accused Russia of abducting at least 20,000 Ukrainian children since the start of the conflict in February 2022. 

Mariana Betsa, Ukraine's deputy foreign minister, said Russia was responsible for "the largest state abduction operation in history."

So far, more than 1,850 children have been found and returned home.

"There will be no just peace in Ukraine without the immediate unconditional return of our children back home," Betsa said from the podium before the vote. 

While Russia admits that some children were taken from combat zones for their own protection, Moscow's deputy UN envoy Maria Zabolotskaya slammed the resolution as "full of mendacious accusations".

"Each vote for the resolution is a support for lies, war, and confrontation. Every voice against is a vote for peace," she said.

Talks to end war

The vote in the UN General Assembly came as the United States -- which voted for the resolution -- tries to get both Russia and Ukraine to agree to its plan to end the war.

But efforts to find a compromise have repeatedly stalled, while on the front lines, the Russian military continues to slowly advance -- albeit with significant losses.

US President Donald Trump initially gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky until November 27 to respond to his latest plan, which would have included the ceding of Ukrainian territory to Moscow -- a non-starter for Kyiv.

But discussions are still ongoing.

Late last month, after talks in Geneva, Zelensky hailed the progress made with US negotiators, notably the inclusion of "extremely sensitive points" such as the return of Ukrainian children he said were abducted by Russia.

For the European Union's UN envoy, Stavros Lambrinidis, "the abducted children of Ukraine cannot wait for the final outcome, for the Russian decision to stop the war or not."

Since 2023, the Russian army has been on a UN blacklist that names countries responsible for violating the rights of children in conflict areas, notably because of the apparent abduction of Ukrainian children.

That same year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that he "bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation" of Ukrainian children to Russia.