Ukraine: Forcible Removal of Children

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 20th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

My hon. Friend is right. These are actions almost beyond comprehension. To be targeting disabled children in this way is a crime that will not be forgotten. He is absolutely right: it is always the most vulnerable who are worst affected by conflict, and that is particularly true of people who are disabled. It is something that we consider in our own aid efforts in Ukraine and, as he says, must of course be considered as part of reconstruction efforts.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Minister for his answers and for his strong focus on the Ukrainian children. I also thank the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter) for all that she has done—we appreciate it. The trafficking to Russia and forced adoption of Ukrainian children is truly despicable. The re-education camps that are brainwashing children to forget—or to erase—their Ukrainian heritage are detestable, and the need for British involvement is undeniable. Will the Minister please outline what steps we will take to bring those children home to their families, instead of accepting that they are prisoners of war, which is disgusting, inhuman and contemptible?

[Mr Falconer]

The hon. Gentleman’s tone is absolutely right. I have described some of the tracing efforts that we are engaged in, but clearly, simply locating these children in Russia is not enough—they must also be returned. We will continue to work at every level; the Minister for Europe has met with civil society organisations involved in those efforts, as has Baroness Harman, our special envoy for women and girls, and the Foreign Secretary has discussed the children with her opposite numbers. We will continue to give this issue the focus that the hon. Gentleman rightly demands of us, and I assure the country that we will do so until the children are returned.