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.

The Hungarian president has announced her resignation over her decision to pardon a man convicted of helping cover up a sex abuse case at a children’s home as the controversy posed a challenge for Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán.

In Moldova, a disturbing case has emerged involving the attempted sale of a Ukrainian infant to a Romanian couple, highlighting the dark underbelly of illegal adoption rings.

Ukraine says more than 19,000 children have been illegally taken by Russia since the war began. NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with two teenagers who were abducted from Ukraine.

During the 14 months for which Veronika Vlasenko attended school in Russia, she was regularly told by teachers and fellow students that she would never be able to go home to Ukraine. “Every day they said to me that I would be staying here for ever and would never leave Russia,” she said. “They told me that Ukraine doesn’t exist, that it never existed, that we’re all Russians … At times the other kids would beat me for being pro-Ukrainian.”

In this conversation moderated by Gillian Huebner, executive director of the Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues at Georgetown University, panelists outline Ukrainian efforts to protect its children and the measures international partners can take to support an effective response to the impact of Russia’s policies of aggression on Ukraine’s future.

In this conversation moderated by Gillian Huebner, executive director of the Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues at Georgetown University, panelists will outline Ukrainian efforts to protect its children and the measures international partners can take to support an effective response to the impact of Russia’s policies of aggression on Ukraine’s future. Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova will provide opening remarks. A reception will follow the conclusion of the question-and-answer session.

Ukrainian officials have condemned a new decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in early 2024 simplifying the process of conferring Russian citizenship on Ukrainian children abducted from wartime Ukraine.