Ukrainian says thousands of children have been taken by Russia. They want them back

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published July 31, 2025 at 11:47 AM EDT

Rescuers work in a destroyed apartment building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Ukraine says tens of thousands of Ukrainian children have been taken to Russia. Ukraine wants those children back, but Russia has so far not engaged in discussions about returning them as part of any peace negotiations.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks to Simon Shuster, senior correspondent for Time, who wrote the article “The Hidden War Over Ukraine’s Lost Children.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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