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Anand offers funding to groups helping Ukrainian children abducted by Russia

  • Dylan Robertson

  • Canadian Press

  • September 28, 2026

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand speaks to media at the Pathways to Peace conference on the return of Ukrainian children held by Russian officials in Toronto, on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

TORONTO -- Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is promising more funding to support Ukrainians who make it home after being abducted by Russia.

Anand announced the funding today in Toronto at a conference where Ukrainian youth and a former prisoner of war have shared harrowing stories of Russian captivity.

Anand says Canada is providing $863,000 in new funding to support civil society groups in Ukraine that help returned children and families.

She says Canada has used artificial intelligence technology to trace the whereabouts of Ukrainian children and prisoners of war.

Officials in Ukraine say Russia has abducted 20,000 Ukrainian children and 2,573 of them have since returned.

In 2024, the Trudeau government co-launched with Ukraine an international coalition of nations committed to finding and returning Ukrainian children abducted by Russia since it began its full-scale invasion in 2022.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2026.