Second Annual Children Praying For Children Held at Ukraine House in Washington DC

May 31, 2025

Braving stormy skies, Ambassador Oksana Markarova welcomed everyone to this significant, but somber gathering, to pray for and remember the thousands of Ukrainian children who have been abducted by Russian forces and are being held captive in the Russian Federation.

Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak led the local Ukrainian Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant clergy in offering prayers for the children and their families who suffer the deliberate separation from their children.

Official statistics account for 19546 children being unlawfully taken to russia. Ukrainian Families do not have contact with or know the whereabouts of their children.

Special Envoy General Keith Kellogg representing President Donald Trump, said that the return of the children to their homeland and families is a top priority in ongoing talks and negotiations. Deputy Envoy John Coale said the return of the children will be on the agenda of continuing talks being held in Turkey.

Children from the Taras Shevchenko Cultural School ended the program with a special song praying for the children of Ukraine.