Overview

• Zelensky said 1,625 children have been returned under Bring Kids Back UA, with a new tracking mechanism underway and two 18-year-olds recently rescued from occupied territory.
• The European Commission pledged about €200 million to provide school meals in Ukraine, joined the children’s-return coalition, and highlighted rehabilitation projects and sanctions on perpetrators.
• Canada announced millions for artificial intelligence systems to help identify and locate unlawfully deported children, noting that a first list of 339 cases was delivered to Russia.
• Leaders including Queen Mathilde and Ursula von der Leyen labeled the removals a war crime and urged action to locate, return, and reintegrate affected children.
• As diplomacy intensified at the UN, President Trump threatened very tough tariffs if Moscow refuses a peace deal while Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned new sanctions could hinder mediation, and Ukraine sought more air‑defence and long‑range strike systems as upgraded Russian guided bombs reached toward Zaporizhzhia.