The Netherlands is helping Ukraine locate children abducted by Russia
Weblogs
Since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in May 2014, thousands of Ukrainian children have gone missing. The Netherlands is working to identify them and return them to Ukraine. In 2026, the Netherlands set aside an additional €2 million for this purpose, including the provision of DNA kits to help reunite abducted children with their families.
Roos Bos is responsible for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ efforts to tackle child abduction. ‘The first reports of missing and abducted children came as early as 2014,’ she says. ‘But since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, the numbers have risen dramatically. It quickly became clear what was happening to these missing children. Russia claimed it was saving the children – pretending that the disappearances were humanitarian evacuations – but in fact it was simply abducting them.
‘Children are still being deliberately removed from Ukraine. Some have been forcibly adopted and placed in Russian families. There is only one reason Russia is doing this: the aim is to destroy Ukraine’s identity and culture and undermine its existence as an independent country.’
Re-education camps
‘The children who disappear are often first sent to re-education camps,’ says Roos, ‘where they are indoctrinated with Russian propaganda. They are not allowed to speak Ukrainian, and they are told that their parents abandoned them.
‘Children can be adopted from these camps, and some end up in Russian families.’ Since the full-scale invasion began, Crimea has been used as a hub for the illegal movement of Ukrainian citizens, including all these children. Russia abducts them from occupied areas including Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson and brings them to Crimea. Then from there they are often deported to Russia.’
Ukrainian police test a family's DNA.
Ukrainian children forced to fight against their compatriots
‘One of the most distressing aspects is that some children are forced to undergo military training so they can be sent to fight against fellow Ukrainians.
‘I find that particularly upsetting, given my own family history,’ says Roos. ‘During the Second World War my Polish grandfather was forced by the Germans to fight in the Wehrmacht . Eventually he managed to surrender to allied forces and helped to liberate the southern Netherlands. Forcing people to participate in acts of war against their own country is exceptionally barbaric and, moreover, a war crime.’
Forcing people to participate in acts of war against their own country is a war crime.
How is the Netherlands helping Ukraine?
The Netherlands is supporting Ukraine militarily and providing other kinds of aid. For instance, the Netherlands is working to combat abductions and deportations, and helping to reunite missing Ukrainian children with their families.
In 2026 the Netherlands has set aside an additional €2 million for the supply of DNA kits to Ukraine. The aim is to enable Ukraine to create a DNA database so that children who return from Russia can be reunited with their families as quickly as possible. Some of this financial support also helps provide psychosocial care for children who have returned to Ukraine from Russia. That is vital, because they often come back traumatised by their treatment by Russian occupying forces and authorities, which can include aggressive indoctrination.
‘The DNA kits can be used to test family members of missing Ukrainian children, providing information that can later be used to show that parents and children belong together,’ Roos explains. ‘That increases the chances of families being reunited. It also enables the Ukrainian police to establish an extensive DNA database of evidence.’ DNA analysis so far has led to some impressive results:
- Collection of about 2,000 DNA samples from Ukrainian parents looking for missing children (as of late 2025).
- Collection of genetic material from more than 3,600 personal items belonging to Ukrainian children who have disappeared from children’s homes and other institutions.
- Identification of children killed in Russian acts of aggression, and the dignified return of bodies to families.
‘The DNA database helps build evidence of child abductions, which will support prosecution of war crimes by courts, including the International Criminal Court. And that’s crucial,’ Roos stresses. ‘There’s a good reason that the International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued international arrest warrants for President Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights, specifically for the deportation of Ukrainian children.’
DNA kits help improve the chances of reuniting Ukrainian families.
Additional support for justice for Ukraine
The Netherlands is committed to ensuring justice for Ukraine. For instance, it hosts the International Claims Commission for Ukraine and supports Ukrainian organisations working for justice. In 2024 the Netherlands awarded the International Four Freedoms Award to Save Ukraine, an organisation that works to rescue abducted Ukrainians.
Every child that is saved is living proof of Putin’s war crimes.
‘The work Save Ukraine does is tremendously impressive,’ says Roos. ‘They are saving children from the chokehold of the Russian occupation, and providing tangible, irrefutable proof of the serious crimes that are taking place. The Netherlands continues to support Save Ukraine by funding mental healthcare projects that help vulnerable children returning from occupied territory.’ The Netherlands remains committed to ensuring justice for Ukraine.