Russia violates the rights of children in the occupied territories - UN report
Kyiv • UNN
The UN has reported widespread violations of children's rights in Ukraine due to the war and occupation. Hundreds of deaths, kidnappings and cases of imposing Russian education have been recorded.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that the ongoing hostilities and the occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine by Russia have led to large-scale violations of human rights with respect to children. This is reported by UNN with reference to the report of the UN Human Rights Office of March 21, 2025.
Details
It is noted that in the period from February 24, 2022 to December 31, 2024, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights documented 669 cases of child deaths and 1833 cases of injuries.
Children in the territories of Ukraine occupied by the Russian Federation remain particularly vulnerable
The UN Human Rights Office confirmed that in the first year after the invasion, at least 200 children, including those in boarding schools, were displaced within the occupied territories or to the Russian Federation - actions that may qualify as war crimes. However, due to the lack of access to the territory of Russia and the occupied regions, it is impossible to fully assess the scale of these movements.
After the seizure of four Ukrainian regions in 2022, which violates international law, the Russian authorities carried out large-scale and profound changes in legislation, institutions and governance, which directly affected children and their rights.
Russian citizenship and the Russian school curriculum were imposed, while access to education in Ukrainian was limited. The Russian authorities have emphasized military-patriotic education in schools and youth organizations, which exposes children to military propaganda. These changes violate the norms of international humanitarian law, which obliges the occupying power to protect children, respect their national identity and ensure the continuity of education and culture.
During the reporting period, at least 1,614 schools were destroyed or damaged. In response, the Ukrainian authorities have taken a number of measures, including obliging schools to equip bomb shelters or switch to distance learning. More than a third of Ukrainian children study fully or partially online. However, frequent air raid alerts interrupt face-to-face classes, and Russian attacks on energy infrastructure cause power outages, which stop or completely make online learning impossible, sometimes for a long time.
According to the report, after three years of continuous war, the level of education among children has decreased, which affects their future - both in education and in the opportunity to realize their potential in professional life.
Obviously, Ukrainian children have experienced an extremely wide range of war experiences - some in exile as refugees, some as direct victims, under constant threat of shelling, and many under the influence of the coercive laws and policies of the Russian authorities in the occupied regions
The United Nations Human Rights Office calls on Russia to immediately and unconditionally cease attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to respect the right of Ukrainian children to full participation in cultural life of their own choosing.
In addition, the UN Human Rights Office in the report appeals to the international community to provide financial and technical assistance to create support programs for children arriving in territories controlled by Ukraine.
Let us remind you
In the occupied territories, children are forced to draw "heroic" images of the occupiers and study distorted history. The aggressor is trying to destroy the national identity of Ukrainian children through the educational system.
