Children are the most vulnerable victims of Russian aggression. Crimes against them must be met with clear and unavoidable criminal accountability.

That was the key message at an international conference in London, where we spoke alongside leading experts in international law from the UK, Poland, and the US, as well as representatives of EU diplomatic bodies and the International Criminal Court.

We discussed how to gather evidence and deliver justice that is beyond doubt — because only then will court rulings against Russian war criminals be undeniable and etched into the world’s memory.

We shared how Russia separates Ukrainian families, deports children, sends them to so-called “re-education” camps, changes their identities, and places them in Russian-run orphanages.

One of the most powerful moments came when Ksenia Koldina — an orphan rescued by Save Ukraine — took the stage. Her testimony is a truth that no propaganda can cover up.

We also spoke about another crime Russia is trying to hide: a large-scale system of military training for Ukrainian children. One girl we rescued, at just 16, had already learned how to set tripwires and anti-tank mines.

40% of the children we’ve brought back from occupation underwent military and weapons training in Russian schools. Ukrainian children are being taught to kill — with hands that should be holding books, not weapons. We shared these stories at the UK Foreign Office as well — because the people making decisions need to hear them.

We emphasized that collecting testimonies is impossible without comprehensive rehabilitation.
Occupiers punish children for disobedience — forcing them to dig trenches, taking them from their parents, placing them in state institutions. These are deep and complex traumas. Save Ukraine likely has the most extensive experience in Europe in helping children recover from the psychological impact of Russian occupation.

The stories of rescued children are not just tragedies. They are evidence — evidence that helps Europeans grasp the full scale of crimes committed by the Putin regime. We believe that testimony — detailed, documented, and truthful — has power.

The same kind of power that the records of Nazi concentration camps held during the Nuremberg Trials. We will continue rescuing Ukrainian children.

Because every child’s story is a key to the freedom of those still living under occupation.