In 2022, 52 residents of the Kirovograd Regional Center for Medical Rehabilitation and Palliative Care for Children were evacuated to Austria due to martial law in Ukraine. There, they received a safe environment, medical care, education, and support, which allowed them to stabilize their psycho-emotional health and ensure their integration into society.
However, in 2025, the Kirovohrad Regional Military Administration decided to return the children to Ukraine, arguing that this was due to the implementation of the State Strategy for Deinstitutionalization and the need to place them in family forms of upbringing. In fact, the return took place in a hurry, without individual assessment of each child and proper preparation, which ignores international standards for the protection of children's rights.
Although the Center's premises in Ukraine meet modern security and accessibility requirements, experts note that geographical distance from the front does not guarantee the absence of the threat of missile strikes. The rush in the return process created real risks to the lives and mental health of children who have already adapted to life in Austria.
International organizations and UN representatives have expressed serious concern over the disregard for the principle of the best interests of the child. They emphasize that interrupting a stable environment and returning children in wartime can lead to developmental regression and deepening psychological trauma.
This case demonstrates that decisions that jeopardize the rights and safety of children can be made under the guise of state deinstitutionalization policies. Urgent response and oversight of such decisions are needed to ensure that any transfer or return of children is based solely on their best interests and international protection standards.
