EU, Ukraine to hold summit for return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia - EC President

11:22, 10.09.2025 1 min read

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced a summit of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children Abducted by Russia.

"And that is why I can announce that, together with Ukraine and other partners, I will hold a summit of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children. Every abducted child must be returned," she said during her annual address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

In her speech, Ursula von der Leyen told the story of an 11-year-old boy, Sasha, from Mariupol, who was injured and later separated from his mother in a "filtration camp." The child was taken to occupied Donetsk, where he was able to call his grandmother Lyudmila in Ukraine and ask her to find him. She crossed Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Russia to pick up her grandson.

"There are still tens of thousands of Ukrainian children whose fate is unknown, they are trapped, under threat, forced to deny their identity. We must do everything possible to support Ukrainian children," she said.