15 April 2025
European Court of Human Rights Launches Proceedings on the Illegal Adoption of Ukrainian Children in Crimea
The European Court of Human Rights has formally notified the government of the Russian Federation of application № 6719/23, submitted by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union on behalf of ten Ukrainian children taken from Crimea following the peninsula’s occupation in 2014. The Court has requested the Russian government to submit its observations by 31 July 2025.
According to the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, the case concerns children aged one to five who, at the time of the occupation, were under state guardianship in childcare institutions due to the absence of parental care. Following the establishment of control over Crimea, the Russian administration refused to return the children to Ukraine, did not disclose their whereabouts, and later published their profiles on a Russian adoption website.
Human rights defenders believe that some of the children may have already been adopted, as their profiles have disappeared from the online platform. In 2014, the Russian administration declared over 4,000 Ukrainian children who had been deprived of parental care to be citizens of the Russian Federation.
The application to the European Court of Human Rights is based on violations of the European Convention on Human Rights, particularly the right to respect for private life, liberty, and personal security. The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union argues that the arbitrary change of citizenship and subsequent adoption stripped the children of their Ukrainian social identity. Additionally, their continued stay in institutions under the control of the Russian Federation is considered a violation of fundamental freedoms.
We call on the international community to monitor this case and increase pressure on the Russian Federation to ensure the return of all Ukrainian children who were unlawfully removed. A united global stance must make clear: the abduction of children must never be normalized.