Russian officials are using deported Ukrainian children as a political tool, framing limited returns as signs of goodwill toward the United States, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The Kremlin is presenting these cases as evidence of cooperation with Washington even as it continues large-scale deportations in violation of international law.

Ukraine and international investigators have documented at least 19,500 cases of children forcibly taken from occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia - an act recognized as a war crime under international law.

ISW reports that Russian Direct Investment Fund head Kirill Dmitriev and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova have both used the issue publicly. Dmitriev, sanctioned by the US in 2022, responded to First Lady Melania Trump’s announcement of the return of seven Ukrainian children with handshake and flag emojis, suggesting that Moscow views the matter as leverage for restoring ties.

The institute says the Kremlin is advancing two overlapping narratives. The first downplays the scale of deportations by claiming Russia took only “hundreds” of children for humanitarian reasons. The second portrays the issue as an area of cooperation with the US, implying that further returns could follow improved relations.

Russian data contradict these claims. Official reports show children from occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions have been placed in Russian families or institutions across at least 20 regions since 2022. Ukraine has confirmed 19,500 deported children, while Russia’s own commissioner for children’s rights has acknowledged receiving more than 700,000 minors “from Ukraine.”

ISW says Russia is using the return of a few children to obscure the broader campaign of forced deportations and adoptions. The institute notes that these actions constitute war crimes under international law and that Moscow has not documented the identities of the children it has taken.

Russia’s top economic envoy has quietly arrived in Washington for official meetings just days after President Donald Trump announced sweeping new sanctions targeting Moscow’s biggest oil producers.

The visit comes at a sensitive moment in US-Russia relations, following the Trump administration’s decision to sanction Rosneft and Lukoil and the US call for an immediate ceasefire in the war against Ukraine. It marks the latest instance of direct contact between officials from the two countries despite ongoing tensions and sanctions.

Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and a close ally of Vladimir Putin, is expected to hold talks with senior Trump administration officials about the future of US-Russia relations, sources familiar with the visit told CNN.

The trip follows Trump’s announcement on Wednesday of new sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies. The measures were introduced as part of Washington’s pressure campaign for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

The impact of the restrictions is already rippling through global energy markets. Chinese state oil majors have suspended seaborne purchases of Russian crude, and Indian refiners are sharply cutting imports, according to industry sources. The moves threaten to squeeze Moscow’s key export revenues, as China and India are Russia’s two largest oil buyers.

Putin said the sanctions would have little impact on Russia’s economy, calling them an attempt to put pressure on Moscow. “No self-respecting country ever does anything under pressure,” he said, adding that he warned Trump the move could affect global oil prices, including in the US.

Kirill Dmitriev, sanctioned Russian envoy

After the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the US Treasury sanctioned Dmitriev as a “close associate of Putin.” 

In April 2025, he became the first Russian official to visit Washington since the invasion, meeting Trump envoy Steve Witkoff. CNN reported that the US government temporarily lifted sanctions to grant him a visa for that visit.

During his April visit, Dmitriev promoted potential economic cooperation on Arctic projects, rare earth minerals, and liquefied natural gas while claiming Russia "is not asking for lifting of sanctions." The Institute for the Study of War described these statements as a "deceptive parallel negotiating track" that diverged significantly from Moscow's actual maximalist positions.