Vitsche eV and Terre des Hommes Germany demand the return and release of Ukrainian children before a peace agreement

According to Ukrainian authorities, at least 20,651 Ukrainian children have been identified as having been deported or forcibly transferred. Many of them are separated from their families, assimilated into Russian systems, and ideologically indoctrinated. Ukrainian civilians are also being deported, illegally detained, tortured, or forced to accept Russian passports. 

Vitsche eV and Terre des Hommes Germany are launching the "Release Before Peace" campaign. Their demand: The German Federal Government and the Bundestag should ensure that the repatriation of deported and forcibly transferred Ukrainian children and civilians, as well as the release of unlawfully detained civilians, takes place before any peace agreement. Return and release must not be a consequence, but a prerequisite for peace. 

“If we believe that relinquishing Ukrainian territories can end the war, we must think of the people who remain there: abducted, indoctrinated, and forcibly militarized children, and unlawfully detained civilians. Peace cannot mean abandoning them,” says Vladyslava Vorobiova, spokesperson for Vitsche eV. 

The campaign builds on international demands. On February 24, 2026, the UN General Assembly called for, among other things, the release of unlawfully detained persons, the return of deported and forcibly transferred civilians, including children, and the complete exchange of prisoners of war. 
aim to Terre des Hommes bring these demands into the political and public debate in the coming months. 

“A peace that leaves people behind is not a just peace. No child should be held hostage in negotiations,” said Malgorzata Biczyk, advisor for the Ukraine program at Terre des Hommes . 

About the campaign