The number of orphans and children deprived of care does not increase even during war: data from the Ministry of Social Policy

The full-scale war that has been going on in Ukraine since 2022 has not only destroyed the lives of millions of families, but also created unprecedented risks for the most vulnerable category — children. The fate of orphans and children deprived of parental care traditionally attracts special attention of society and the state. However, despite hostilities, active military operations, mass displacement of families and occupation of some territories, statistics on the number of such children in Ukraine do not show a sharp increase.

What was announced by the Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine

Oksana Zholnovych, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine stated that, according to official statistics, there are now about 62,000 children registered in Ukraine who have the legally defined status of an orphan or a child deprived of parental care. Before the start of the full-scale war, this figure was slightly higher — over 65,000. Thus, the government does not record a significant increase in the number of status children even in wartime conditions.

“Actually, the statistics remain approximately the same as before – today the number of status children even decreases somewhat. That is, there were more than 65 thousand, and now it is about 62 thousand. Therefore, we cannot say that the war somehow led to the fact that our families suddenly became more disadvantaged.” Zholnovich emphasized.

Features of accounting during the war

At the same time, as the minister noted, the current figures do not fully reflect the real state of affairs, as they cover a smaller part of the child population of Ukraine. This is due to the fact that part of the Ukrainian territories remains under Russian occupation, and many children have gone abroad with their families, escaping from hostilities.

“Today, we operate with data on a smaller number of people, because part of the territory of Ukraine is under occupation, where it is not clear what is happening to the children. In addition, some of the children left with their families abroad, where they end up in international guardianship systems.” – explained the minister.

Thus, the mentioned statistics refer only to that part of the child population that is currently in the territory under the control of Ukraine and is registered in the Ukrainian guardianship and social protection bodies. That is, official data are representative only for a part of the country, and the real situation regarding children in the occupied territories or abroad may differ significantly.

“In Ukraine, this figure balances at approximately the same level, but it affects a smaller number of people.” Zholnovich concluded.

The vast majority of orphans are brought up in family settings

A special feature of the Ukrainian guardianship system, which was preserved even in wartime conditions, is that more than 90% of orphans and children deprived of parental care are brought up not in residential institutions, but in family settings. This allows children to maintain a more stable emotional environment, receive individual attention and minimize the psychological consequences of losing parental care.

The reform of the child protection system, which Ukraine has been actively implementing for the last decade, has retained its effectiveness even in the conditions of war. The priority remains family forms of education — adoption, foster families, family-type children’s homes and guardianship of relatives. This approach made it possible to avoid massive expansion of the network of boarding schools even in the conditions of new challenges brought by the war.

Risks in the occupied territories and the removal of children to Russia

The situation with children in the temporarily occupied territories remains a special problem that is not covered by the official statistics of the Ministry of Social Policy. Due to the lack of control by state authorities in these regions, it is impossible to obtain complete information about how many children are left without parental care, how many of them are in danger, or have been taken to the territory of the Russian Federation or third countries.

The Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly stated the facts of the forced removal of children from the occupied territories, their subsequent transfer to Russian foster families or state institutions. These actions, according to international law, are considered illegal deportation and can be qualified as a war crime.

The lack of access to such areas and the children there is the biggest obstacle to building a complete picture of the total number of war orphans.

The situation with Ukrainian children abroad

Another specific group is children who, together with their families, left Ukraine in the first months of the full-scale war. Some of them could also lose parental custody already during their stay abroad – in connection with the death or disappearance of their parents, or as a result of other circumstances. In such cases, children fall into the protection system of the country where they currently reside.

The Ministry of Social Policy only partially receives information about such children thanks to international cooperation, but there are no centralized statistics abroad. These children fall out of the general Ukrainian register of orphans and children deprived of care, as they are under the jurisdiction of other countries.

Therefore, as the Ministry of Social Policy notes, despite the dramatic consequences of the war, Ukraine maintains control over the situation regarding orphans in the controlled territory. Official statistics show that the number of such children did not increase, but even slightly decreased compared to the pre-war period. This became possible thanks to the preservation of the system of family forms of education and the work of social services even in the most difficult conditions. However, at the same time, there is a great deal of uncertainty regarding the fate of children in the occupied territories and abroad who are out of sight of national authorities. Solving these problems will require special attention of the state and the international community in the future.