Europol organized an investigative effort involving 40 investigators from 18 countries to trace 45 Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia. The investigation utilized open-source intelligence to assist Ukrainian authorities. Many of the children have been adopted by Russian nationals or are in re-education camps. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, tens of thousands of children were deported, with Ukraine managing to return around 2,000. The UN has classified these actions as crimes against humanity.