Carey Mulligan urges Government to support Ukrainian children ‘stolen’ by Russia

Hollywood star Carey Mulligan has urged the UK Government and international community to “demand” information from Russia about every “stolen” Ukrainian child.

The Bafta-winning actress, best known for her roles in The Great Gatsby, Suffragette, and She Said, is a founding global ambassador for War Child, a charity that works with local communities and governments to protect, educate and support children who are caught in a conflict.

On Sunday, Mulligan, 40, helped the charity launch a new campaign, Return Every Child, which aims to raise awareness of the tens of thousands of children who have gone missing from Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022, and the million more who are living under Russian occupation and at risk of transfer, indoctrination and militarisation.

A one-day public installation of 19,546 paper dolls has been set up at the Now Building at Outernet London with each doll representing a child who has been forcibly taken from their home and transferred into Russia.

In a speech made at the launch event in central London, Mulligan said: “War Child has filled this space with paper dolls, one for each child that has been confirmed stolen from their homes in Ukraine.

“In 2025 it has become worryingly common to talk about children whose lives have been destroyed by war in the thousands, but each one of these children is somebody’s world.

“They’ve been torn from their families and taken across borders, deep into Russia. They’ve been placed in institutions, in camps and in homes that are not theirs.

“They are told that their country does not exist. They’re told that their parents abandoned them. They’re told to forget their history, their language, their roots, and behind every child taken is a family living in agony.

“Parents staring at empty beds, brothers and sisters who don’t understand why their sibling is gone.

“Meanwhile, many of these children are being indoctrinated and militarised to serve the interests of the Russian state. Ukrainian children are being manipulated and coerced into the Russian Armed Forces and trained for combat against their own country.

“International law calls this a war crime, and it is. But aside from law, it is something even more basic. It is a betrayal of what we owe children. Our most fundamental duty to keep children safe, to keep them close and to let them grow up as who they are.”

Visitors have been encouraged by the organisation to add drawings or messages of hope as well as sign a petition which urges the UK Government to take further action for Ukraine’s missing children.

Mulligan added: “We call on the international community to demand from Russia full access to information about every Ukrainian child taken. We’re here to support humanitarian efforts for family reunification.

“We’re here to support humanitarian efforts for family reunification. We need to demand that we use every diplomatic and legal tool to ensure that those responsible face justice, and we crucially need to provide funding for the long term recovery of these children.

“From what I’ve seen in my role with War Child over the last 10 years, recovery is possible with the right resources, we can provide the dedicated help that every child deserves.

“These children can be supported to process their trauma, rebuild their education and not just move on, but thrive.

“These are not numbers on a page. They are children full of potential, full of life, and they must be returned every single one.”

Helen Pattinson, chief executive of War Child UK, said: “For any child to be separated from their families and caught up in the horror of war is unacceptable.

“Every Ukrainian child taken must be returned safely, and we hope that through this powerful installation at The Now Building, we can raise some much needed awareness on this pressing issue.”