Swiss mobilise quiet diplomacy to help return Ukraine’s stolen children

Switzerland will work to coordinate international efforts to help deported Ukrainian children, an approach in line with the Alpine nation’s quiet, behind-closed-doors diplomacy approach. Virginie Nguyen Hoang / AFP

The Swiss government has joined an international coalition seeking to return Ukrainian children to their families after they were forcibly deported to Russia or Russia-occupied territory.

After two years on the sidelines, Switzerland has joined a group of nations trying to bring home children taken by RussiaExternal link following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Still, questions remain over what such efforts can achieve, and how the Swiss can help.

More than 20,000 children have been unlawfully deported from Ukraine to Russia and Russia-occupied territory since the war began, according to figures cited on the European Commission’s websiteExternal link. Only a few thousand have been returned, it added. The figure comes from Ukrainian sourcesExternal link and is disputed by Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the closing ceremony of the “Bolshaya Peremena” national contest for schoolchildren in grades 5-7 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, on August 3, 2026. Evgeny Biyatov / Kremlin Pool / Keystone

The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an international arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023 over the deportation of children from Ukraine.

What does the coalition of nations do?

Founded in February 2024, the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian ChildrenExternal link now includes almost 50 countries. Efforts by citizens on the ground, states and humanitarian agencies to try to get the children back started soon after the invasion began.

Switzerland will help coordinate international efforts to help the deported Ukrainian children. This approach is in line with the Alpine nation’s quiet diplomacy approach of negotiating behind closed doors, far from sensational statements.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the coalitionExternal link at a Brussels meeting in May that the priorities for his country are finding deported children, tracing their movements, supporting their return and helping them reintegrate after coming home.

Why is Switzerland becoming a full member?

Switzerland joined the coalition in early 2026 after both chambers of its parliament adopted motions last year calling on the government to become a full member.

The country had already been taking part in meetings as an observer and Swiss officials described the decision to join formally as a continuation of an existing commitment rather than a major shift in policy. The foreign ministry said the Swiss government will keep offering diplomatic expertise and its so-called good offices – a traditional role in which the country acts as a confidential, non-partisan messenger between conflicting sides. Switzerland will support work to locate and return Ukrainian children, the ministry said. Still, there were few specifics on new contributions resulting from the change in membership status.

“The main objective of the coalition is to coordinate various initiatives related to unlawfully deported Ukrainian children,” a ministry spokesperson said. “This includes possible new initiatives.”

Why might quiet diplomatic mediation work best?

Successful efforts to return some children to their homes have involved government figures, humanitarian groups, grassroots organisations, and even well-connected individuals, often using informal contacts. Lower-level discussions, out of the media limelight, may also help to reduce deadlock across warring lines.

Despite threats, former Echo of Moscow editor-in-chief Alexei Venediktov is still working and reporting in Moscow. Thomas Kern / SWI swissinfo.ch

“It’s very simple,” said Alexei Venediktov, a senior journalist involved in efforts to bring children home, when asked how to assess the coalition. “How many children did they help reunite with their families? How many relatives did they identify? How many cases did they help resolve? That’s the metric. Not declarations. Not conferences. Not reports.”

In 2023, media reports suggested that Roman Abramovich helped facilitate the return of Ukrainian children through Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Sergey Bobylev / Kremlin Pool / Keystone

Media stories in 2023 linkedExternal link Russian businessman Roman Abramovich to returns of children involving Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Qatar has played a role in facilitating some returns.

Rather than relying on a single diplomatic channel, each case often requires a different combination of negotiations, humanitarian contacts and legal procedures.

On July 30, the White House said five more Ukrainian and Russian children went home. Mark Schiefelbein / Keystone

Last year, after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska, First Lady Melania Trump said that eight Ukrainian and Russian childrenExternal link had been reunited with their families after she appealed to her husband to raise the issue.

On July 30 , the White House saidExternal link five more Ukrainian and Russian children went home. “When the arrest warrant for Putin was issued, I thought everything would stop,” Venediktov, the former editor-in-chief of the Echo of Moscow radio station, told Swissinfo. “Instead, the work continued. That surprised me”.

What have Swiss-based organisations previously been doing?

Switzerland is already involved in initiatives supporting Ukrainian children.

The country has long supported efforts through the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), assistance to Ukrainian authorities and participation in the Group of Friends for Children and Armed Conflict in Ukraine, the foreign ministry said.

It is one of seven donors to the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine, and its school rehabilitation scheme has seen more than 17,000 kids resume in-person education.

“Switzerland […] will continue its existing commitment, adapting it in line with Ukraine’s needs and in cooperation with international partners,” the foreign ministry told Swissinfo.

Why is there uncertainty over the number of children affected?

Gauging how many children are missing is complicated amid the ongoing conflict and estimates vary widely. Some of that is simply the fog of war and some are disputes between the two sides over whether children are missing, living with other relatives on the opposite side of the frontline, or have been taken by Russia against their will.

Ukraine’s Bring Kids Back campaign lists more than 20,000 cases of possible forced transfer or deportation, the figure used by the European Commission and others.

Researchers at Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) produced an even higher estimate of at least 35,000 children. The number, again disputed by Russia, was recounted by HRL Executive Director Nathaniel Raymond in his testimony to the US Senate.

Separately, the Kyiv Post, Ukraine’s English-language newspaper, cited Raymond as saying the figure was an “internal estimate” that the lab was working to verify. He said the lab was conservative with its figures.

At the other end of the scale, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry has verified just 1,205 specific cases. The commission says it looks into representative samples rather than every reported case and verifies each using evidence corroborated by three independent sources.

The UN says its investigators must obtain “sufficient and compelling evidence” which may partly explain the much lower estimate.

Edited by Tony Barrett/ac