Carina Ödebrink addresses Café Kyiv in Berlin, 24 February 2026BERLIN, 25 February 2026 – Marking four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Envoy on Russian Abductions and Deportations of Ukrainian Children Carina Ödebrink (Sweden) delivered a powerful keynote at Café Kyiv, a major public event series organized by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Berlin.

On Tuesday, Ödebrink spoke at the event titled “Every child must be brought home,” framing the abductions not as a peripheral issue but as a deliberate war strategy aimed at erasing Ukraine’s future, and emphasizing that the forcible deportation and assimilation of Ukrainian children strikes at the heart of the conflict and tests the international community’s commitment to human rights.

Head of Germany’s OSCE PA Delegation and Political Affairs and Security Committee Rapporteur Tobias Winkler also spoke at the KAS event, focusing his remarks on the work of the OSCE and the PA.

In her address, Ödebrink highlighted the OSCE’s unique role as a consensus-based platform for dialogue among 57 participating States, born from the Helsinki Final Act’s principles of sovereignty, non-use of force, and human rights. Despite challenges posed by Russia’s violations and its self-suspension from the OSCE PA, she stressed the Assembly’s necessity in maintaining engagement and parliamentary oversight.

She detailed the scale of the crisis: Ukrainian authorities have identified nearly 20,000 deported children, with Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab estimating up to 35,000. Children face name changes, language bans, and forced Russification. These acts violate the Geneva Conventions, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and international humanitarian law.

“Every child must come home,” Ödebrink declared. “This is law, politics, and morality.”

Ödebrink highlighted key efforts, noting in particular her report presented at the 2025 OSCE PA Annual Session in Porto, which draws on UN, Council of Europe, EU, and OSCE Moscow Mechanism findings. Recommendations from her report included pressing Russia for information on deported children, increasing sanctions and using frozen assets for tracing and rehabilitation, and making unconditional returns a non-negotiable element of any ceasefire.

Tobias Winkler participates in a Q&A session in Berlin, 24 February 2026She spotlighted the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children (launched in 2024 by Ukraine and Canada, now with 44 members) and Ukraine’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative, which has secured over 1,600 returns. The OSCE PA, she pointed out, is the first parliamentary body to join the Coalition.

Following the keynote, a Q&A session featured Yana Melnychenko and Frank Mischo from Kindernothilfe. A panel discussion explored the OSCE as a dialogue platform for peace, stability, children's rights, and human rights.

Today, Ödebrink held meetings at the Federal Foreign Office and the Bundestag, including with Alternate Member Robin Wagener.

On Monday, Ödebrink attended the opening of Café Kyiv 2026, which included the participation of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, reaffirming Germany's unbreakable solidarity with Ukraine, emphasizing continued support for its self-defense and a just, lasting peace.

For more information on the work of the Special Envoy on Russian Abductions and Deportations of Ukrainian Children, please click here.