“Do you want to return under the bombs?” European countries refuse to return Ukrainian children.

Ukrainian childcare institutions that went to Europe before the Russian invasion must now be returned. In particular, this concerns children who have managed to find adopters in their homeland. This was reported by the Director of the Kyiv Regional Center for Social Services, Natalia Ibragimova.

According to Ibragimova, many childcare institutions went to Germany and the Netherlands. There were also problems with Spain, where local courts' decisions on children placed under guardianship prevailed.

Ibragimova noted that thanks to cooperation with the Ukrainian embassy in Spain, it was possible to return Ukrainian children who had already found families in their own country. However, Germany does not show a desire to return Ukrainian children.

Ibragimova said that the German authorities conducted a test with a manipulative question: do the children want to return to a country where military actions constantly take place? Naturally, the children answered negatively. The Germans use this test to prove that the children do not want to return. Ibragimova demands a similar survey with the participation of the Ukrainian side.

It is noted that among the questionnaires filled out on the Ministry of Social Policy website, there are questionnaires of children who are already in the process of adoption. Many children are abroad with their adopters who left Ukraine at the beginning of the conflict.

The situation is complicated by the fact that the demand for child adoption exceeds their number. This was reported by Natalia Ibragimova.