Human Security Centre Human Rights and International Security Research
7 September 2025
War Child UK has published the Return Every Child report, exposing Russia’s systematic campaign to indoctrinate and militarise Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories. Co-authored with the Human Security Centre and Save Ukraine, the report draws on testimonies from 200 rescued children and reveals harrowing patterns of abuse. The report concludes that the most likely goal of Russia is to encourage, manipulate, or coerce Ukrainian children into the Russian Armed Forces, including participation in combat against their own country.
The report is part of a wider War Child UK campaign which was launched in central London on 7 September. The event featured 19,546 paper dolls, each representing a child verified by the Ukrainian government in March 2023 to have been taken from their homes and transferred into Russia. Visitors were invited to decorate the dolls with drawings or messages of hope. In addition to the paper doll installation, the event featured an impactful 360 degree video installation featuring interviews with young people who were transferred into Russia. The installation also featured clips from the soon-to-be-released documentary, Children in the Fire, directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky, speaking to the experiences of children in occupied Ukraine.
Report Key Findings
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55% forced into pro-Russian indoctrination, including propaganda lessons, “correct” history, bans on the Ukrainian language
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41% subjected to militarisation, including weapons training, drills, or recruitment into youth movements like Yunarmiya
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39% unlawfully displaced or deported to Russia, Crimea, or Belarus
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30% sent to “camps” for military training, including live-fire exercises
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18% separated from their families
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18% denied medical care
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17% detained in police stations, filtration camps, or informal facilities
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10% endured torture or cruel treatment; 6% reported sexual violence
Just days before publication, the UK government sanctioned individuals responsible for “forcibly deporting, indoctrinating and militarising Ukrainian children.” UK military intelligence has also reported that Ukrainian children are being pushed into Russian military service once they reach adulthood.
Rowan Allport, Deputy Director of the Human Security Centre and report co-author, said:
“The findings we have documented give a human face to an already well-established body of evidence that Russia is systematically seeking to indoctrinate and compel Ukrainian children to serve in the Russian military. This campaign involves deportations, forced displacement, involuntary adoption, re-education camps, detentions, stripping of national identity, and physical and psychological abuse. It is imperative that regardless of whether the conflict continues or some type of ceasefire arrangement is reached, the return of these children to Ukrainian jurisdiction is prioritised”
The report has been covered by The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, and The Daily Express amongst other outlets.
