According to Ukrainian authorities, as of March 2024, the Russian Federation has deported or forcibly transferred 3,790 Ukrainian orphans and children deprived of parental care. The actual number of such deported minors may be higher, accounting for those displaced by Russian agents from the occupied territories prior to the full-scale invasion, as well as those who lost guardians due to the aggression. 

At least 380 Ukrainian orphans and children deprived of parental care have been transferred to Russian families for foster care. An additional 46 minors, including those from recently occupied territories, have been adopted. Unlawful changes in the personal status of Ukrainian children persist, alongside ongoing cases of deportation and forcible displacement.

As of March 2024, only 388 children have been returned to Ukraine. This number includes orphans and those deprived of parental care, who were either placed in Russian institutions or taken in by Russian citizens. The purpose of this analytical report is to collectively assess the best interests of this particular category of minors. 

The authorities of Ukraine do not maintain separate statistics on returned ‘status’ children. Similarly, there is no unified approach or mechanism for conducting collective or individual assessments of the best interests of deported and forcibly transferred Ukrainian orphans and children deprived of parental care. This deficiency prevents the effective facilitation of the return of such minors in accordance with current international standards and practices. The aim of the analytical piece is to address this deficiency, employing a flexible and adaptive approach. Should new factual circumstances arise, the results of the best interests assessment may be subject to revision. Additionally, in some cases, the conclusions drawn from collective assessments may differ from those derived from individual assessments, owing to the unique circumstances of each deported and forcibly transferred child.

This project is supported by the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine (PFRU), funded by aid from the governments of Canada, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

This publication has been produced with the support of the ‘Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine’. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the Regional Center for Human Rights and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Fund and/or of its financing partners.