Author: Karolina Hird



Data cut-off: 1 pm EST, May 21

ISW's Russian Occupation Update tracks the activities that occur in the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. This product line replaces the section of the Daily Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment covering activities in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

To read ISW’s assessment of how Russian activities in occupied areas of Ukraine are part of a coerced Russification and ethnic cleansing campaign, click here.

Click here to view our Russia-Ukraine interactive maps.

Click here to view our special reports since 2025.

A bipartisan group of US senators introduced a resolution on May 20 calling for Russia to return all the Ukrainian children it has deported before finalizing any peace agreement to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. The resolution acknowledges that Russia’s widescale deportation of Ukrainian children “demonstrates the intent of the government of the Russian Federation to erase the Ukrainian nation and identity” and condemns Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the disproportionate harm Russia has inflicted on children. Ukraine has confirmed Russia’s deportation of 19,546 Ukrainian children as of May 21, 2025, but the true number is likely much higher due to intentional Russian efforts to obscure the breadth of the deportation campaign, and because Russia has frequently targeted socially vulnerable children without guardians who can identify or advocate for them. ISW continues to assess that there can be no true peace in Ukraine without the safe return of the children that Russia has abducted, as the fate of these children is tied to Russia’s military and political goals in Ukraine.

Key Takeaways:

• A bipartisan group of US senators introduced a resolution on May 20 calling for Russia to return all the Ukrainian children it has deported before finalizing any peace agreement to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. ISW continues to assess that there can be no true peace in Ukraine without the safe return of the children that Russia has abducted.



• The contemporary Russian Federation is continuing the Russian Empire’s and Soviet Union’s legacy of targeting indigenous peoples in occupied Crimea, pursuing particularly repressive policies against the Crimean Tatar community.

• An investigation by Ukrainian outlet Suspilne highlights ongoing Russian efforts to prepare Ukrainian children for service in the Russian military.

• Russia also continues to militarize the curricula in non-cadet schools in occupied Ukraine and is leveraging its wider education policy in occupied territories to leverage schoolchildren in the production of military goods.

Click Here to Read the Full Update

Website | Jobs & Internships

Follow ISW on social media:

Facebook | X | YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | Threads | Bluesky

Donate online or by sending a check to the Institute for the Study of War at 1400 16th Street NW, Suite #515, Washington, DC, 20036. Please consider including the Institute for the Study of War in your estate plans.

ISW is a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research organization. ISW advances an informed understanding of military affairs through reliable research, trusted analysis, and innovative education. We are committed to improving the nation's ability to execute military operations and respond to emerging threats in order to achieve US strategic objectives.