On January 28, 2025, Andriy Kovalenko, Head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, an officer of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, and Daria Zarivna, Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Chief Operating Officer of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, presented an analytical report “Militarization of Ukrainian Children in the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine”.

The report was prepared by the Center in cooperation with Bring Kids Back UA, a national initiative of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy aimed at returning children forcibly deported by Russia. The presentation was also attended by the Center’s management and Oleksandra Dvoretska, Head of Policy Bring Kids Back UA.

A. Kovalenko stated that one of the Center’s tasks is to monitor the information space to identify individuals and legal entities involved in the abduction of children from the temporarily occupied territories (TOT), their ideological indoctrination, and integration into occupation structures. Additionally, the Center works to uncover Russian propaganda networks that engage children in its activities, identify propagandists and cultural figures, and expose the Russian special services participating in these activities.

The head of the Center emphasized that such actions have been carried out by Russia since the 1990s in Ukraine’s eastern regions, aimed at “educating” potential agents for Russian special services among Ukrainian youth for their eventual integration into the political and cultural landscape of Ukraine.

Kovalenko noted that the data gathered during monitoring on propagandists, individuals, and legal entities committing crimes against Ukrainian children is submitted by the Center to the relevant state authorities for action, including the imposition of sanctions. “This work will continue even after the war is over—we will make life unbearable for Russian criminals,” he said.

The head of the Center said that, in collaboration with the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, the Center has launched a portal War @ Sanctions dedicated to identifying sponsors and accomplices of Russian aggression. The portal includes a section titled “Child Abductors,” which lists individuals involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children. Currently, it features 314 individuals and 162 legal entities, with the information being regularly updated.

D. Zarivna highlighted Russia’s systemic strategy targeting Ukrainian children, describing it as a deliberate policy aimed at destroying Ukraine’s future. She explained that Russia uses physical removal, erasure of identity, and militarization to turn Ukrainian children into instruments of war.

To date, she reported, over 1,000 children have been returned as part of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, including 450 in the past year. D. Zarivna emphasized that the Ukrainian government remains committed to ensuring the return of all Ukrainian children.

The report was further detailed by Kyrylo Viktorov, Deputy Head of the Department for Countering Information Threats to National Security of the Center. He underscored the need for increased international pressure on Russian authorities, advocating for additional sanctions against organizations and individuals involved in the militarization of children in the temporarily occupied territories. Viktorov also stressed the importance of creating global mechanisms to monitor such violations and called for deeper cooperation with humanitarian organizations to fund programs for psychological rehabilitation, social adaptation, and the training of rehabilitation specialists.

Read the full report: https://cpd.gov.ua/en/report/analytical-report-militarization-of-ukrainian-children-in-temporarily-occupied-territories-of-ukraine/