World figures of culture and sports signed an open letter calling for the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia
The war took away not only safety, home and peace from Ukrainian children, but for many the very possibility to stay with their relatives. Along with the threat of armed attacks, shelling and occupation, another systemic tragedy has unfolded in part of the territories of Ukraine — the mass deportation of children to the territory of Russia and the territories occupied by it. These children become hostages of someone else’s policy, they try to deprive them of their name, language, parents, and identity. They become victims not only of war as an armed conflict, but also of a war directed against a whole generation of Ukrainians.
Against the background of these events, well-known world figures – representatives of culture, art, sports, literature, as well as human rights defenders and politicians – took the initiative to make a public appeal. On June 13, The Wall Street Journal had published an open letter in which its authors appealed to the world community to join forces to return every abducted Ukrainian child home.
The signatories of the letter were famous directors, actors, musicians, writers, athletes and representatives of international organizations. Among them are Marina Abramovych, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Bernard-Henri Levy, Oleksandra Matviychuk, Sean Penn, Salman Rushdie, Sting, Elina Svitolina and the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak. The signatories urged to make the return of deported children not just a humanitarian mission, but a common cause of the whole world.
The appeal emphasizes: since February 24, 2022, thousands of Ukrainian children were forcibly taken from the territories of Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions. They were forcibly deported not as a result of hostilities, but as part of the purposeful policy of the occupation authorities. They were separated from their parents, schools, ordinary life, language and culture.
In response, Ukraine launched a state initiative called “Bring Kids Back UA”. This is a large-scale operation carried out in coordination with international partners and the public sector. Its goal is to identify abducted children, find their location, return them home and ensure full reintegration after the trauma they have experienced.
The authors of the letter emphasize that it is not just a humanitarian problem, but a purposeful attempt to destroy an entire generation of Ukrainians through the forcible reformatting of their consciousness, the eradication of identity, and the inability to return home. Prominent human rights activists and opinion leaders have compared this policy to the practice of radical Islamic groups, including ISIS, which have created “child soldiers” through propaganda, isolation and military training.
As stated in the appeal, a large part of the kidnapped Ukrainian children are placed in foreign foster families, closed institutions or military-type camps. Children are not simply taken out of the country, but isolated, forced to speak a different language, destroy their personal memory, force them to give up their own names, and convince them that Ukraine as a state never existed. Some of the children are being trained to participate in military structures, creating new generations of future fighters in the Russian armed forces.
The open letter states that most of the abducted children are still missing. Their future fate remains unclear, and international efforts to identify and return them are hampered by Russia’s withholding of information. The authors of the letter call these actions a direct violation of international law, a crime against humanity and a shame that will forever remain in history.
The appeal emphasizes that the identification, search and return of every child is not only a moral obligation, but also a necessary condition for achieving a just peace. Peace cannot be complete without the return of abducted children. The authors call on politicians, diplomats, public organizations and all those who care to join forces, put pressure on their governments and support programs for the return of children to Ukraine.
“We ask you to act not as diplomats or officials, but as people. As parents. As those who know what it’s like to lose a loved one, and what it’s like to never get them back. Let’s unite, regardless of nationality or opinion, and say unequivocally: children are not the subject of political bargaining. Bring them back. Immediately”, – this is how the text of the letter ends.
The head of the President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, also published a link to the letter and called on everyone to join in signing it.
This initiative once again reminds the world community that the war in Ukraine is not only a matter of fronts and territories. This is a war that takes away the future through the abduction of children, their forced re-education, deprivation of their homeland and family ties. And while thousands of Ukrainian families are waiting for the return of their children, the struggle for every missing childhood continues every day.
