India abstains from UNGA resolution demanding return of Ukrainian children from Russia

India abstained in the UN General Assembly from a draft resolution that demanded that Russia ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children forcibly transferred or deported since the start of the war.

The 193-member General Assembly adopted the draft resolution ‘Return of Ukrainian children’ Wednesday, with 91 votes in favour, 12 against and 57 abstentions. India was among the nations that abstained in the UNGA on the resolution, along with Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The resolution expressed deep concern about the impact of the war on children, in particular the fate of all Ukrainian children who have been separated from their families since 2014, including those forcibly transferred within the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine by Russia and those deported to Russia.

The resolution demanded that Russia “ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported” and urged Moscow to cease, without delay, any further practice of forcible transfer, deportation, separation from families and legal guardians, change of personal status, including through citizenship, adoption or placement in foster families, and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.

It stressed the need to investigate and ensure accountability for those responsible for forcible transfers and deportations of children, in accordance with international law.

The resolution deplored the legislative and administrative measures taken by Russia since 2022 that “simplify” the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for Ukrainian children, particularly orphans, children deprived of parental care and unaccompanied children.

Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa, presenting the draft resolution at the 11th emergency special session of the UNGA, said that as of October 2025, there are 6,395 deported and forcibly transferred children. In total, over 20,000 cases of deportation and forcible transfer are being investigated.

Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative Maria Zabolotskaya, in her remarks in the UNGA, said that the draft resolution is stuffed with “mendacious accusations”, adding that it contains baseless allegations of Russia's violations of international humanitarian law and does not mention that there may be children evacuated from the combat zone or children who lost ties with their relatives, which in no way can be regarded as violations.

“The resolution expresses concern regarding a simplified procedure for Ukrainian refugees to acquire Russian citizenship. Such a procedure is something that refugees around the world would dream about, especially if, as is the case under the Russian legislation, they are not even obliged to renounce their Ukrainian citizenship, not to mention the fact that the procedure is purely voluntary,” Zabolotskaya said.

She said that each vote in favor of the resolution is a “vote in support of lies, war, and confrontation, while each vote against is a vote for peace.”

President of the UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock said that since February 2022, when Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the General Assembly has reiterated its calls, across eight resolutions adopted during its Eleventh Emergency Special Session, for the immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine’s internationally recognised territory.

“That is why the question of returning Ukrainian children cannot be viewed in a vacuum, for this issue would neither have arisen nor persisted without the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine,” she said.

Earlier this year, a resolution adopted by the General Assembly highlighted its concern that the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia has persisted for three years, and continues to have devastating and long-lasting consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for other regions and global stability, Baerbock added.