'We need strong support': Ukraine fighting to bring children back from Russia

The Current22:33Fight to return Ukrainian children abducted by Russia

Mykola Kuleba, the former children's ombudsman of Ukraine, says that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is not just about territorial disputes but it's also a fight for the well-being of children and families. 

"The intention [for Russia is to] totally destroy Ukrainian identity, instill hatred toward Ukraine, and militarize the children to make them Russian soldiers," Kuleba told The Current's guest host Susan Ormiston. 

Kuleba is in Montreal this week to attend a Canada-led summit on the release of prisoners and deported persons of Ukraine that's co-organized with Ukraine and Norway. 

19,500 Ukrainian children have been illegally and forcibly taken away to Russia since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, says Kuleba. 

But Kuleba says that there are more that haven't been identified. His charity, Save Ukraine, has rescued more than 500 abducted children. 

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly stated in September that countries will develop a "concrete plan, based on the principles of international human rights and humanitarian law, for the return of prisoners of war and deported civilians, including children, to Ukraine."

The war has caused a "children's catastrophe," says Michael Bociurkiw, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, an international affairs think tank based in Washington. 

"It is continuing with at least two children killed every day, thousands injured … deprivation of education, separation from families, the list is very long," said Bociurkiw. 

Kuleba spoke to Ormiston about the current situation in Ukraine, and how the international community could help. Here's part of their conversation. 

How old are these children that are being taken? 

All ages until 18 years old. But we are saving only children who could communicate. It's teenagers, because these kids can call to our hotline, and call their relatives, and we can build this communication. 

Our investigators communicate with these children, and when we're sure that we can safely return child, we return the child back.

Russia says, of course, it's rescuing children from the occupied territories and they're going to have a better life because they'll be out of the conflict. They'll be in Moscow or Russia. What do you think of what they say about what's happening? 

It's Russian narratives. It's huge Russian propaganda all over the world, even in Canada, just to confuse people. [It causes] people to think that it's so complicated, we will never understand what happened. It's not so comfortable to listen to what Russia's doing. 

But it's true that our children are stolen. Our children experience huge indoctrination. 

Children have been just brutally kidnapped from their homes, or sent to so-called summer camps. But it was indoctrination camps and [they] never returned back.

WATCH | Russia accused of taking Ukrainian children:

Russia accused of taking thousands of Ukrainian children

2 years ago

Duration 7:01

The Ukrainian government says roughly 13,000 children, some with living family members, have been illegally taken to Russia since the war started. Ukraine says it’s a war crime, and Russia claims it’s saving forgotten orphans.

We communicate with the children, they [tell] us, "Oh, maybe we'll stay in Russia because in Ukraine lives Nazis, and the U.S. and Europe are trying to grab Russia. Russia is a victim."

They learned this in Russian schools. 

That's why we need strong support [from the] civilized world, all countries to tell truths about this war, because this [is a] war against children, against women. We are fighting not only for territories, because on occupied territories live Ukrainian children, Ukrainian families.

We fight for them, because we want to return them to normal life, not being [slaves] of Russia anymore. We've been [that for] hundreds [of] years. We lost millions of Ukrainian population who've been killed and [imprisoned]. We want to be free.

LISTEN | NYC mural shows empty bedrooms of Ukrainian kids taken by Russia:

As It Happens6:33NYC mural shows empty bedrooms of Ukrainian kids taken by Russia

You mentioned that the Ukrainian government has successfully brought back some children. How does that work? How do you get them back? 

The Ukrainian government and the president initiated [a] bring kids back initiative, where 40 countries united, [with] Canada leading in this initiative to bring kids back and help us to identify these children. 

We are trying to use all our allies to ask [for] help … but negotiating with Putin is very hard, because … he's [saying he's] saving Ukrainian children. 

Save Ukraine is [a terrorist] organization in Russia, and … I am [on the] blacklist of Putin as the enemy of Russia, because I'm saving Ukrainian children. I'm protecting their rights.  

WATCH | Seventeen Ukrainian children taken by Russia reunited with families:

Ukrainian children taken by Russia reunited with families

2 years ago

Duration 2:29

Seventeen Ukrainian children who were sent to camps in Crimea by Russian officials were reunited with their families in Kyiv today. They are among thousands who were transferred to Russia or the regions it occupies.

Mykola, what do you hope comes out of the conference you're at this week? What do you want from the international community? 

Our allies and global partners should join us in this time of injustice, war, [to] support returning our children from Russia and temporarily occupied territories, and Save Ukraine … by providing support [to] rescue, restore and rebuild children's [lives]. 

We need this strong support to help Ukraine return the children, rehabilitate and reintegrate.

We all heard a lot about this in the world — [in] the first six to eight months of the war in Ukraine, we heard these terrifying stories. Is it still happening regularly? 

Yeah, it's happening in the occupied territories, in combat zones. And it's horrible. 

We [hear] all the time from families and children who've been returned, horrible stories of war crimes, crimes against humanity. 

And for me, it's all signs … of genocide against [the] Ukranian nation. 

I'm grateful for what Canada is doing to save our kids.