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On International Children’s Day, June 1, 2025, children are asked to pray for the return of Ukraine’s abducted children back to their homes. This effort is sponsored by the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA), according to Marusia Kvit-Flynn, vice-president of UNWLA. “Catholics, as well as members of other religious denominations, are invited to participate in their places of worship and ask their clergy to have your children pray for the return of the abducted children back to their homes. They are asking that you reach out to your place of worship and ask your clergy to lead the children in prayer for the safe return of Ukraine’s children,” she said.
Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak, of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, will preside over a prayer service in Washington, D.C. on May 31 for the return of the abducted Ukrainian children.
The Russian genocidal war on Ukraine has wrought devastating destruction on Ukraine, including the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children into Russia. These children have been forcibly removed from their homes, transferred to Russia, placed in so-called “re-education” camps, or had their identities changed and put up for adoption.
The U.S. State Department shut down funding for Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL). The lab is dedicated to investigating war crimes in Ukraine, including the forcibly abducted children from Ukraine into Russia. The close down date was May 16, 2025. The Yale unit was currently tracking the location of about 35,000 children. To date, about 19,564 abducted children have been documented. The Ukrainian National Women’s League of America has a dedicated committee working on public awareness about this heinous crime in hopes of bringing these children home by organizing these prayer services throughout the country. They are asking you to write to your representatives and ask them to lobby for the return of the funding to the HRL at Yale University.
On December 9, 1949, Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term “genocide,” persuaded the United Nations to classify genocide as a crime under international law. One of the five criteria that he included as genocide was “Forcibly transferring children of a group to another group.” According to the 1949 4th Geneva Convention, abducting or seizing children against their will and/or the will of their adult guardians, without due cause, is illegal under international law and meets the legal definition of genocide.
The Yale lab is sharing its findings with the Ukrainian authorities to help locate the children. Now, with its funding cut, thousands of abducted Ukrainian children may never be reunited with their families. Yale HRL can be credited with the evidence underpinning the International Criminal Court’s indictments of President Vladimir Putin. Any peace agreement with Russia must include the return of these children as a “precondition” to negotiations rather than a “part” of the negotiations.
To that end, the U.S. Senate, in a bipartisan effort, has introduced S.Res.236 – A resolution calling for the return of abducted Ukrainian children before finalizing any peace agreement to end the war against Ukraine.
Marianne Zanko Komek is a freelance journalist whose articles have appeared in the National Catholic Register, the Catholic News Service, Catholic Philly, Joy in Truth, and The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper for the diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey. Her poetry has been featured in the children's magazine, St. Mary's Messenger. The Manhattan School of Music featured her poetry as lyrics for a composition performed there. She has also worked as an editor and editorial assistant for publishers in Manhattan. Marianne is a consecrated member of the International Marian Apostolate of Schoenstatt. She is also a graduate of the Tepeyac Leadership Initiative. In her spare time, she enjoys classical music, experimenting with recipes, and going for walks by the bay in her hometown. Her novel for teenagers, Promises to Theresa, is available on Amazon.
