Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Ukraine's partners regarding one of the basic elements of peace, emphasizing the return of military personnel, civilians, and especially children from Russian captivity.

“It is extremely difficult to bring our people home from Russian captivity, and the hardest part is bringing back our children—the young Ukrainians stolen from their families, taken from our temporarily occupied territories to Russia, and hidden away. No one can say for certain how many there are, but we know there are tens of thousands. These are very young children and teenagers. Those who have relatives in Ukraine. And those whose relatives, unfortunately, died from Russian strikes," the president said in his video address on Sunday evening.

According to him, sometimes children themselves can contact volunteers, human rights activists or their relatives in Ukraine. But most Russians simply deprive them of any means of communication, take away and destroy the children's documents, and send them to foreign Russian families.

"In captivity, not just years, but every day matters. And every effort that helps free our people matters as well," Zelenskyy emphasized.

He also recalled that this week in Canada a conference was held on the item of the Peace Formula, which is dedicated to the return home of all Ukrainian captives, deported and kidnapped Ukrainians. More than 70 states and international organizations took part in the conference.

"Every prisoner exchange is an achievement. Every child who returns home to Ukraine is joy. But everyone - everyone must be returned. Our Bring Kids Back UA initiative is working to make this happen, with support from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Vatican, and many other countries," the head of state said.

In his video address, Zelenskyy also emphasized: “We want real peace for Ukraine - for our land and for all our people. And this is fair. It is fair to bring home all those who were deprived of their homes by the war. Peace must be reliable.”