Ukrainian children have been deported and brainwashed by the Russian occupiers since the invasion of Crimea in 2014. Although there was sufficient coverage of the brutal deportations and use of young people as child soldiers by Russia at the time, it did not lead to any significant reactions from the international community. With their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the occupiers dramatically expanded the illegal distribution of Russian passports as well as the deportation of children.

"Bring Kids back to Ukraine," a conference organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in cooperation with the FDP parliamentary group and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, took place in the German Federal Parliament, the Bundestag, in September 2023. It addressed the fate of many Ukrainian children deported by Russian invaders.

With participants consisting of Members of the Bundestag, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, NGOs and journalists from Germany and Ukraine, as well as Ukrainian officials of the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Presidential Office, the conference intended to give a voice to the approximately 20,000 deported children – children like 10-year-old Ilya from Mariupol, who gave testimony at the event. His mother was killed by Russian soldiers, and he himself was deported. Ilya was liberated with the help of local NGOs and was thus able to escape further brainwashing. His rescue became possible because his grandmother had happened to recognize Ilya in a Russian propaganda video. So far, less than 400 children have been returned to their families and relatives.

The issue of illegal deportation of Ukrainian children and the implicit attempt by Russia to extinguish the Ukrainian nation need further attention. Recently, not only Members of the Bundestag, but also representatives of other national parliaments and international organizations have acknowledged the genocidal nature of the deportations.