In Russia's Belgorod region, near the Ukrainian border, children are being evacuated by train after regional authorities announced 9,000 minors would be moved to other regions. The move follows weeks of deadly bombardment from Kyiv in the region, repeatedly targeted since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A teenage orphan who became a posterchild for Moscow's deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia said he was instructed by officials to recite pro-Russian talking points for television cameras and threatened with a beating when he complained about conditions.

Programul Național pentru Protecția Copilul

This study analyzes statistical data on the institutionalization of children aged between 0-6 years; examines current practices of prevention, identification, assistance, referral, and placement in institutions and family based alternative care; evaluates the knowledge and attitudes of professionals and decision makers and outlines recommendations for the development and introduction of a moratorium on placing children aged between 0-6 years in residential care.

This report presents an analysis of focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted over the course of December 2023 and January 2024 with children affected by the conflict in Ukraine, including those displaced within Ukraine as well as those in Romania, Moldova, and Georgia.

As the war in Ukraine enters its third year, the nation's children are feeling the overwhelming stress of displacement and life under the constant threat of attack. UNICEF and partners are working to protect children's mental health and provide psychosocial support to keep them healthy and preserve their hope for a brighter future.

The most important phone call of Yevhen Mezhevyi’s life came in mid-June of 2022. His anxiety, fear and exhaustion at the time makes him fuzzy about the exact date. What he does remember is the sound of his son’s voice. Matvii was calling from Russia, where he and his two younger sisters had been forcibly deported nearly a month before — the same morning Mezhevyi, a single father and Ukrainian soldier from Mariupol, had been released without explanation after spending 45 days as a prisoner of war in a Russian penal colony in Donetsk oblast.

Before the war, Dima led a normal life as a teenager. He lived with his parents, spent time with friends or on his phone, and sometimes bickered with his sisters. Now, standing in a cemetery on the outskirts of his village, Dima stares at the brightly coloured wreaths that cover the freshly dug graves of his parents and paternal grandparents.

This article examines the adoption of Ukrainian children, by U.S. citizens as the Ukrainian government ceases adoptions of children during the chaos of war. Intercountry adoption dynamics are presented with data from 2021, prior to the conflict in 2022.

The international Child Protection (CP) Technical Advisor (TA) ensures technical excellence to drive Child Protection impact for children in need across Ukraine. Within the overarching goal of preventing and addressing violations of children’s rights, the international CP TA leads the thematic portfolio of interventions aimed at preventing and responding to all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of children in Ukraine.