Rome Statute art. 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii); Fourth Geneva Convention art. 49
Deportation and unlawful confinement
Deportation or unlawful transfer of civilians, forced displacement inside or outside occupied territory, unlawful imprisonment and unlawful confinement of protected persons — including the deportation of Ukrainian children.
- Crimes
- 7
- Documented victims
- 65,353
- Period covered
- 2015 — 2026
Geographic distribution
- Donetsk oblast4
- Crimea1
- Kyiv oblast1
- Zaporizhzhia oblast1
Recorded crimes
- Deportation and unlawful confinement
19,500victims
1 January 2026 · · Donetsk oblast
Ongoing efforts to trace and return deported Ukrainian childrenUkrainian authorities and NGOs continued tracing children transferred to Russia and occupied territories; only a small fraction of the thousands identified have been returned.
sources: Center for Civil Liberties — Tribunal for Putin documentation
- Deportation and unlawful confinement
10,000victims
1 September 2023 · · Zaporizhzhia oblast
Forced russification and militarised education in occupied MelitopolIn occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukrainian children were enrolled in a Russian curriculum, sent to 'patriotic' camps in Russia and pressured through the Yunarmiya youth movement.
sources: UN Human Rights Office — Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine
- Deportation and unlawful confinement
19,553victims
17 March 2023 · · Donetsk oblast
Systematic forcible deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children to RussiaOn 17 March 2023 the ICC issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and children's-rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for the war crimes of unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied areas to Russia, committed at least since 24 February 2022. Ukraine has identified 19,553 children deported or forcibly displaced; the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab verified transfers into dozens of camps across Russia. As of August 2023 only 395 children had been returned.
sources: International Criminal Court — ICC judges issue arrest warrants against Putin and Lvova-BelovaU.S. Department of State — The Kremlin's War Against Ukraine's Children (19,553 children)
- Deportation and unlawful confinement
16,000victims
17 March 2023 · · Kyiv oblast
ICC issues arrest warrants for the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian childrenThe International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova for the unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.
sources: International Criminal Court — Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants
1 March 2022 · · Donetsk oblast
"Filtration" and forcible transfer of Ukrainian civilians to RussiaAs they encircled Mariupol and other areas, Russian forces forced fleeing civilians through a security "filtration" process — interrogation, biometric registration, strip-searches for "nationalist" tattoos — in at least 15 towns, detaining some and channelling large numbers into Russia. Human Rights Watch and the OSCE concluded the forcible transfer of civilians is a war crime and may amount to a crime against humanity.
sources: Human Rights Watch — "We Had No Choice": Filtration and the Crime of Forcibly Transferring Ukrainian Civilians to RussiaU.S. Department of State — Russia's Filtration Operations and Forced Relocations
- Deportation and unlawful confinement
300victims
1 March 2022 · · Donetsk oblast
Forced transfer of children from Mariupol to Russian-controlled territoryDuring the siege of Mariupol, Russian authorities organised transfers of Ukrainian children, including orphans, to Russia and occupied Crimea without proper consent from relatives.
sources: Human Rights Watch — Ukraine: Human Rights Watch Ukraine coverage
1 September 2015 · · Crimea
Forced imposition of Russian citizenship and conscription pressure in CrimeaOccupation authorities in Crimea automatically imposed Russian citizenship on residents and began conscripting Crimean men into the Russian armed forces, a practice OHCHR characterized as a violation of international humanitarian law obligations of an occupying power.