41 OSCE participating states invoked the moscow Mechanism, mandating an expert mission to investigate the militarization and indoctrination of Ukrainian children by the russian Federation.
“Forcible transfers and deportations of Ukrainian children remain among the gravest violations documented. Ukrainian official records identify 20,610 deported or forcibly transferred children as of June 2026. Children deported to the russian Federation havefrequently been placed in foster families or subjected to adoption under russian law, in violation of Article 50 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Articles 8, 9, 10, and 21 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
The russian Federation has systematically obstructed family reunification while failing to establish any mechanism for restoration of identity, as required by Article 8(2) of the UNCRC and as recommended by the 2023 moscow Mechanism Mission” according to a report on violations and abuses of international humanitarian, human rights and criminal law related to militarization and
indoctrination of Ukrainian children by the russian Federation.
The mission found that the russian legislative architecture governing Ukrainian children in occupied territories constitutes a system of purposeful design. First implemented in Crimea since 2014, it was expanded to all occupied territory since February 2022, with further strengthening and reinforcement.
The mission concluded that the practices of systemic indoctrination and militarization may also amount to a crime against humanity in the form of persecution, directed against Ukrainian children on discriminatory grounds as part of a widespread and systematic attack.
Moreover, the mission identified probable war crimes related to the subject of this mission, including torture and inhuman treatments, causing great suffering to children, and unlawful deportation and transfer of children.
