European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday called for the return of all Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia to be a central point in any future peace agreement, speaking at the High-level Meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children in Brussels. The event, co-hosted with Ukraine and Canada, aimed to make practical contributions to trace and return children and to impose sanctions on perpetrators.
Von der Leyen recounted meeting an 11-year-old boy, Sasha, who was taken from his mother by Russian soldiers and later rescued with the help of his grandmother and the Ukrainian government. "Their freedom is Ukraine's freedom. Their future is our future, too," she said, pledging continued efforts until every child is reunited with their families. The speech did not announce new concrete proposals or numerical targets but reiterated a commitment to support tracing and return operations alongside sanctions.
The meeting builds on ongoing work by the International Coalition, which includes Ukrainian civil society and international partners. Von der Leyen's remarks underscore the EU's stance that child abduction is a war crime and that accountability must be part of any peace settlement. The speech was largely declarative, reinforcing existing policy rather than introducing new measures.