Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to reports that around 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported or transferred into Russia or Russian-held territories, what steps his Department is taking to help Ukraine reunite children with their families.

The UK continues to track Russia's deportation of Ukrainian children. Our efforts focus on communications, sanctions, and accountability. We have raised this issue at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the UN and the Human Rights Council. The UK participated in the most recent meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children in October 2024 and continues to work closely with the Ukrainian government. In November 2024, we announced a third round of sanctions targeting those attempting to forcibly deport and indoctrinate Ukrainian children. We were pleased to see another group of children returned via Qatari mediation in September 2024, and are grateful for Qatar's continued engagement.