ECHR Probes Illegal Adoption of Ukrainian Children from Occupied Crimea
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has officially begun reviewing a case concerning the adoption of Ukrainian children by Russian citizens in Crimea, a region under temporary Russian occupation since 2014, The Gaze reports citing Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
Filed by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union (UHHRU), the application represents ten Ukrainian children, aged one to five at the time of Russia’s seizure of Crimea. These children, previously in state care, were not returned to Ukraine and later appeared on Russian adoption websites. Some profiles have since been removed, raising concerns that adoptions may have already taken place.
According to the UHHRU, the children were arbitrarily granted Russian citizenship and stripped of their Ukrainian identity. The case argues that their rights under several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights were violated, including the rights to private life, liberty, and personal security.
The ECHR has notified the Russian government of the case (application No. 6719/23) and requested an official response by July 31, 2025.
Ukraine’s Presidential Mission in Crimea welcomed the Court’s decision to proceed with the case and reiterated its call for the return of all unlawfully relocated Ukrainian children.
The deportation and forced relocation of children from occupied territories have been a growing concern since 2014, with violations intensifying after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. As of now, at least 618 Ukrainian children have been killed and over 1,884 injured since the start of the war.
Read more on The Gaze: Why Ukraine cannot give up the territories occupied by Russia