The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) Begins Examination of the Case Concerning the Illegal Adoption of Ukrainian Children from Crimea by Russians
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has officially announced the commencement of proceedings regarding a case that raises issues related to the illegal adoption of Ukrainian children evacuated from the occupied Crimean peninsula. This is a significant and multifaceted case that highlights human rights violations, the cynical use of children for political purposes, and abuse by the Russian authorities. According to information from the Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the case has been filed with the ECtHR concerning ten children aged from one to five years old who, at the time of the occupation, were under the custody of Ukrainian institutions. After Russia seized Crimea in 2014, Ukrainian children's institutions disappeared from the international spotlight: Russian authorities refused to return the children to Ukraine, did not inform their guardians, and even during and after the occupation, continue to conceal their whereabouts. Data from the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union indicates that there are clear signs that some of these children have been adopted by Russian citizens. Documentary evidence shows that information about the fate of some of these minors disappeared from open sources, and their profiles were later found on Russian websites specializing in adoption. Meanwhile, according to Russian official structures, over 4,000 Ukrainian children from Crimea who lacked guardianship were declared in 2014, and this data was formally recorded as Russian citizens. The European Convention on Human Rights, which the Ukrainian applicants rely on, particularly guarantees the right to respect for private and family life, personal integrity, and freedom. In the submission to the court, it is emphasized that the arbitrary change of children’s citizenship and their subsequent adoption deprived them of their ethnical, cultural, and personal identity. Ukrainian human rights defenders underline that detaining children in facilities after the annexation of Crimea is not only a violation of international obligations but also a gross violation of human rights. Notably, the ECtHR has already notified the Russian government of case No. 6719/23 and requested official comments to be submitted by July 31, 2025. This underscores the importance and seriousness of examining this issue at the European judicial level. It is worth recalling that in December 2024, Darya Zaryina, Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, stated during her speech at the UN Security Council that the Russian side does not hide its pride regarding the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children. Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, purportedly boasted that over 700,000 children from Ukraine have already been "resettled" in Russia—including those deported from Crimea during the Russian occupation. This indicates a systematic approach to kidnapping and adopting Ukrainian children as part of a policy aimed at destroying Ukrainian identity and strengthening Russian control over populated areas. Once again, the likelihood increases that this case will become a significant milestone in the fight to restore the rights of Ukrainian children and hold Russian authorities accountable for violating international law—transforming human lives into tools for political decisions.