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The adoption procedure has been temporarily put on hold as it is impossible to guarantee the safety of the adoptees and the legality of the procedure during wartime. All reports of the procedure being simplified under martial law (such as claims of people being able to adopt children over a few hours) are fake.

The first several weeks of war saw multiple social media posts about the possibility to quickly adopt children who have lost their parents. However, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine has responded by saying that these reports are either ill-informed or part of a scam which leads to childrens’ rights violations, additional traumatization or even human trafficking.

If you want to help a child that has lost their parents, you can temporarily host them in your family. To do this, you’ll need to:

1. Contact the Children’s Social Service at your place of residence.

2. Use the chat-bot “Dytyna ne sama” to send an online application to temporarily host a child. After your application is processed, you will be contacted by a social worker, who will explain the further steps you will need to take in order to host a child.

You can also use this chat-bot to inform social services that you have found an unaccompanied child, your child is lost, or if you have other questions concerning the welfare of children during the war. You can also contact their hotline.

Temporarily hosting a child is not the same as adoption – it is temporary and the process will only last a certain time. As soon as it is possible, the child will return to their parents, other relatives or children’s social services.

However, if the family remains willing to adopt the child who has been placed under their temporary care, it will be possible to apply with the authorities after the peace in Ukraine.

* Based on information provided by the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, the President’s Adviser on Childrens’ Rights