Ukrainian children evacuated to Italy after Russia's 2022 invasion are resisting return to Ukraine, and some Italian courts have backed foster families seeking to keep them there. The article says most evacuated children have been repatriated but more than 1,500 remain elsewhere in Europe; it highlights a case in April in which a 15-year-old boy in Italy was legally adopted despite Ukraine's wartime suspension of international adoptions, and says Kyiv views the losses as part of a broader demographic crisis.
Why it matters: The dispute affects children, foster families and Ukrainian authorities trying to bring minors back from Europe during wartime. It also connects refugee protection, child-welfare law and Ukraine's longer-term population and identity concerns as the country faces low birthrates, war losses and displacement.
Stefania D'Ignoti. Photographs by Camilla Minnozzi
2026.09.16
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This article establishes a distinct story about wartime evacuation of Ukrainian children in state care to Italy and other EU countries, subsequent resistance to repatriation, and court-backed efforts to keep some children in Europe.
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