RIGHT OF REPLY BY THE DELEGATION OF UKRAINE As delivered by Ms Viktoria Kuvshynnykova, Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna 1575 th meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council Agenda Item 4, “Review of Current Issues” (30 July 2026) Mr Chairperson, I would like to exercise my right of reply in response to the statement by the Russian delegation. The current issue selected by the Russian delegation does not invite this Council to establish facts. It asks us to accept a verdict in advance. What follows is usually an exercise in reversing the roles of aggressor and victim, with children used as emotional scenery. Since 2022, Moscow has repeatedly repackaged the same allegations: civilian casualties stripped of the context of Russia’s aggression; evacuations from combat zones portrayed as abductions; Ukrainian rescue teams relabelled as traffickers; claims of illegal adoption abroad, organ removal and sexual exploitation; accusations of “Nazi education”, linguistic or religious persecution, and the recruitment of minors for military, intelligence or sabotage purposes. Most recently, this playbook has incorporated Starobilsk and Kyrylivka. Stories change. But the methods do not: erase the aggression and the occupation, suppress independent verification and present assertion as fact. Every child killed or injured is tragedy. Every credible allegation must be examined impartially. International humanitarian law applies in all circumstances. Ukraine does not seek immunity. ODIHR’s Ninth Interim Report recorded allegations concerning the involvement of children in activities related to hostilities and urged the authorities to refrain from such practices. Ukraine takes this recommendation seriously and addresses verified cases through law, oversight and child-sensitive procedures. The same report documented the recruitment of children by Russian-linked actors through Telegram for intelligence gathering, espionage and sabotage in occupied and government-controlled territories. By June 2026, 269 children had reportedly been suspected of recruitment for offences carried out in favour of the Russian Federation. PC.DEL/802/26 31 July 2026 ENGLISH only The OSCE Secretariat bears no responsibility for the content of this document and circulates it without altering its content. The distribution by OSCE Conference Services of this document is without prejudice to OSCE decisions, as set out in documents agreed by OSCE participating States.
2 That is the difference between accountability and propaganda: Ukraine cooperates with independent mechanisms and acts upon recommendations. Russia refuses cooperation and then quotes its own institutions as proof. The Moscow Mechanism has already provided this Organization with an independent record. Its 2023 Mission established violations connected with the forcible transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children, obstacles to family reunification, exposure to adoption and assimilation, and conduct that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Russian Federation refused to cooperate. In July 2026, another Moscow Mechanism Mission concluded that Russia had developed a well-coordinated system of indoctrination and militarization affecting some 1.6 million Ukrainian children under its control. It documented the imposition of Russian curricula, elimination of Ukrainian elements from education, coercion beginning from kindergarten age, military-patriotic structures and pathways towards future service in the armed forces of the occupying Power. Again, Ukraine cooperated. Again, Russia refused. As of 14 July, the United Nations had verified that at least 803 children had been killed and 2,960 injured in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion. The UN found that the vast majority of civilian casualties happened in government-controlled areas and that the 2026 increase was driven largely by long- range Russian attacks. Mr Chairperson, A delegation genuinely concerned about minors would support independent access and investigations. It would provide complete lists and whereabouts of every Ukrainian child under its control. It would stop deportation, forced passportization, indoctrination, militarization and recruitment. It would return the children and reunite families. Above all, it would take the most effective child-protection measure available today: end the war of aggression and withdraw its forces from the territory of Ukraine. Children are not exhibits in Russia’s courtroom theatre. They are rights-holders. This Organization must treat them accordingly. Thank you, Mr Chairperson.