Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is co-hosting a two-day Toronto conference focused on efforts to return Ukrainian children abducted since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
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Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is co-hosting a global meeting in Toronto that aims to advance work to return Ukrainian children abducted by Russian officials, with the sessions scheduled to run over two days.
The meeting is tied to broader international efforts that began gaining momentum after Canada co-launched an international coalition with Ukraine in 2024, focused specifically on returning children unlawfully transferred following Russia’s full-scale invasion that began in 2022.
According to the information provided, those coalition efforts have resulted in the return of hundreds of children. The work has also expanded beyond children alone to include adult civilians and prisoners of war taken from parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia.
The two-day talks are expected to include ministers from European countries and participation from non-governmental organizations, alongside testimony from Ukrainians who have returned from Russian captivity.
The conference comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin and a senior Russian official have been subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant since March 2023, on charges including unlawful deportation and transfer of children.
The Ukrainian government and its allies contend that Russia has effectively abducted tens of thousands of children since the invasion and that many have been placed into Russian families, where they are pressured or made to reject Ukrainian culture.
In practical terms, the Toronto gathering underscores that the return of abducted children has moved from individual casework to a coordinated international process involving governments, advocacy organizations and structured diplomatic engagement across multiple jurisdictions.
For Canadian policymakers and residents, the meeting also reflects Canada’s continued involvement through its role in the 2024 coalition and its alignment with the wider international approach that seeks both humanitarian outcomes for those affected and accountability through international legal mechanisms.
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