Since 2014 Russia has forcibly transferred almost 20,000 Ukrainian children to areas under its control, assigned them Russian citizenship, forcibly adopted them into Russian families, and created obstacles for their reunification with their parents and homeland. The true scale of the crisis may be far greater.
The demonstration on 1st June in central London aims to raise awareness of the harrowing plight of Ukrainian children suffering under Russian occupation.
An estimated 1.6 million Ukrainian children have had their lives stolen by the ongoing occupation. They have been subjected to forced displacement, militarisation, indoctrination, forced adoption, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation.
The Ukrainian government has recorded 19,546 cases of children abducted and taken to Russia for “re-education,” to erase their Ukrainian identity. Independent estimates indicate that the number of abducted children may now exceed 40,000.
The march is backed by a broad coalition of organisations, including:
- Trade Union Congress (TUC) and national unions GMB, PCS, NEU, UCU, NUM and ASLEF
- President Zelensky’s Bring Kids Back campaign.
- The Save Ukraine centre, dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating abducted children.
- Campaign for Ukraine, Vsesvit, and a range of progressive Ukrainian community organisations.
How You Can Help
We ask for your support by promoting the demonstration in the coming week:
Share information about the demonstration on your social media platforms, and communication channels,
Inform your members urging them to attend and organise to bring union banners and flags.
Post video messages to raise awareness, such as:
- Video of Appeal from displaced children of Kharkiv
- Video Message of Paul Nowak TUC General Secretary
- Video message by Social Movement Children of Kryvyi Rih
- Video Message Mykhailo Volynets Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine
In Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine the plight of children has been less reported and featured in discussions about a ceasefire.
Support the demonstration on 1st June. Show your solidarity with the Ukrainian resistance to Russian occupation and abduction of Ukrainian children.
given all this the attempt by reform UK to block the showing of the ukranian flag by the local authorities they control shows the are pro Russian – this point needs to be made constantly
trevor fisher