As of 1 October 2026, 793 people in Ukraine have been granted the status of victims of human trafficking. Among them are 22 children.
This was reported by the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, citing data from the National Social Service of Ukraine.
18 October marks the European Anti-Trafficking Day. On this occasion, the Ombudsman spoke about five children who were affected by human trafficking and needed assistance.
According to Lubinets, in one case parents sold their newborn baby. After the Ombudsman learned about the situation from the media, he contacted the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration. The child was granted victim-of-human-trafficking status for two years.
In another case, a 16-year-old girl was recruited for sexual exploitation. Media reports said a 50-year-old woman was involved. After the Ombudsman appealed to the Sumy Regional Military Administration, the girl was also granted the relevant status.
In another case, a mother handed her children over to strangers for two weeks for $1,000 with the aim of further exploitation. Following the Ombudsman’s intervention, the children were granted victim-of-human-trafficking status.
Lubinets also spoke about a boy from the temporarily occupied Luhansk region who, after the death of his relatives, remained in the occupied territory. After he was placed under guardianship, he was forced to do hard labour, threatened with violence, and his documents—including his Ukrainian passport—were taken from him through deception. The boy managed to obtain victim-of-human-trafficking status.
In the fifth case, the child’s own mother tried to sell the child. After repeated appeals by the Ombudsman to local military administrations, the responsible officials prepared the necessary documents and the child received the relevant status.
As Lubinets noted, this status makes it possible to receive free medical, psychological, social and legal assistance, as well as a one-off financial payment.
“No child can be a commodity. Our duty is to respond to such cases in time, protect victims and ensure they have access to assistance,” the Ombudsman stressed.
- In Poland, 10 Ukrainian citizens were detained on suspicion of involvement in an organised criminal group engaged in human trafficking, pimping and money laundering.