Rally in London in support of abducted Ukrainian children

One of the worst — of many — crimes committed by Russia during its fullscale invasion of Ukraine is the systematic abduction of Ukrainian children from occupied territories, endorsed and abetted at the highest levels of the Russian state. These children, most of whom have parents or guardians, are kidnapped and taken into Russia, where they are often renamed, adopted out to Russian families, and otherwise deliberately made as difficult as possible to identify and retrieve. There are tens of thousands of such children identified by the Ukrainian government as abducted, but the true figure is likely higher. Only a fraction of these have been safely returned home.

This Sunday, there is going to be a rally in London, organised by Ukraine Solidarity Campaign (a movement in which UK trade unions and other progressive organisations affiliate with equivalent Ukrainian organisations and groups; I'm a member through my own union), to highlight this particular issue, and advocate for more to be done to return these children home, and hold Russia accountable for this crime.

If you are able to attend, details of the rally are on the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign website. Please feel free to share this post widely.