Italian court bans bringing back orphans to Ukraine taken from Berdiansk

An Italian court has ruled to keep in Italy the 57 Ukrainian orphans aged 6 to 16 who were taken from Berdiansk after Russia's full-scale invasion. They will be placed in three centres in Bergamo.

According to Ansa, the Juvenile Court of Brescia has confirmed the immediate transfer of Ukrainian minors in the province of Bergamo to the custody of Italian social services "so that they can continue to stay in the places where they are now", with virtually no time limit.

Previously, the court had granted a two-week extension of the children’s stay, but the court ruling cancels this decision and makes it indefinite for now.

The Ukrainian authorities requested the return of the children.

The court ruling, however, notes that "as reported in recent days by the guardians, the Ministry of Justice and UNHCR", many children have filed, and others intend to file, an application for international protection with the territorial commission, "fearing for their safety in connection with the return to areas close to the theatre of hostilities".

Therefore, "in the light of this new fact", the court considered it "appropriate to temporarily suspend the return to Ukraine of the above-mentioned minors in order to allow the Commission to conduct an investigation and make the necessary decisions on the applications submitted by the minors".

The Brescia Court, which has jurisdiction over the Bergamo region, also emphasises that "the return should be suspended for all minors, as they have, since their arrival in Italy, constituted essentially a single group represented by a single responsible person and therefore cannot be separated".

The group of children arrived in Bergamo in March 2022 with several carers and were immediately accepted by the city's citizens. The group came from two orphanages in Berdiansk, from which they had fled during the Russian offensive.

The consideration of the Ukrainian request for the repatriation of the children was scheduled for Friday, 16 August, but has now been frozen by the Italian authorities. This is also because many of the orphans are being treated in hospitals in Bergamo for various serious pathologies.

The agency notes that there is no clear reason to rush the return of children without families: the Italian authorities say that their interests should be given priority, and therefore the children will remain in Italy indefinitely.

The EU has become an observer in the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.

The first meeting of the newly formed International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, co-chaired by Ukraine and Canada, took place on 2 February in Kyiv.

The International Coalition is working to bring home Ukrainian children forcibly transferred from the occupied territories of Ukraine to other occupied oblasts or to Russia.

In winter, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution on the situation of Ukrainian children.