On 2 October 2026, on the occasion of the 63rd Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Human Rights Research League (HRRL) delivered an oral statement during the Interactive Dialogue with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation in Ukraine. Speaking on behalf of HRRL, Viktoriia Tsymbaliuk underlined that behind every statistic about war is a child. Since Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainian children have been killed, injured, displaced, separated from their families and deprived of safety. The latest report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documented more than a thousand cases of conflict-related sexual violence. Among those attributed to the Russian authorities were girls and boys, the youngest was just four years old.

But the consequences of war do not end when violence stops. Our recent survey demonstrated the long-term impact of war on children, including those who had lost parents, children of missing persons, POWs, fallen defenders, as well as children who had experienced deportation, displacement, and occupation.

Territorial concessions cannot substitute for human security as no child is safe living under Russian occupation, as it exposes children to coercion, indoctrination, militarization, separation and other grave violations. Therefore, we must stop Russia's aggression, punish those responsible for the war crimes, and return Ukrainian children to Ukraine, as every child returned is a life restored.

For further details, please see the video of the Oral Statement on UN Web TV.