# Ukraine's First Lady fights for stolen children

> Olena Zelenska tells the ABC that Russia's abduction of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children is not covered enough in Western media.
- Title: Ukraine's First Lady fights for stolen children · Abc
- Summary: Olena Zelenska tells the ABC that Russia's abduction of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children is not covered enough in Western media. Ukraine's First Lady…
- Keywords: olena zelenska, ukraine, russia invasion, children abduction, volodymyr zelenskyy, bucha, war, media coverage, news, politics, Ukraine's, First
- Source: Abc — https://abc.net.au/news/2026-10-04/olena-zelenska-interview-foreign-correspondent/107197022
- Published: 2026-10-03T18:28:17+00:00
- Read time: 3 min
- Topics: olena zelenska, ukraine, russia invasion, children abduction, volodymyr zelenskyy, bucha, war, media coverage, news, politics
## A rare interview with Ukraine's First Lady
ABC Europe correspondent Kathryn Diss sat down with Olena Zelenska, wife of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to discuss her work as first lady during wartime.
## Building homes for orphaned children
While her husband focuses on the front lines and global diplomacy, Olena Zelenska has led efforts to turn teachers, pharmacists, police officers and social workers into frontline counsellors and started a foundation to build new homes for children orphaned by the war.
## Her personal mission: stolen children
As a mother of two children, Olena Zelenska has made fighting for the return of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children Russia has abducted, forcibly transferred or deported since its invasion her personal focus.
## Meeting in Bucha, a city of tragedy
Diss met Zelenska in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, the location of a brutal massacre of civilians by Russian soldiers in two thousand twenty-two that holds painful significance for Ukraine.
## A home for ten orphaned children
A local family invited them inside their home, newly built by the Olena Zelenska Foundation. These foster parents now care for ten children orphaned by war, a household dynamic that has become common in Ukraine.
## From comedy to wartime leadership
The couple met at high school in the industrial city of Kryvyi Rih in south-east Ukraine. After studying their respective degrees, they decided on pursuing a career in comedy, with her as scriptwriter and him as comedian.
## She shies away from the limelight
Unlike her husband Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who thrives on national television and major global events, Olena Zelenska relishes meeting regular, everyday people in the community away from the spotlight.
## A painful topic not covered enough
Zelenska told Foreign Correspondent that Russia's systematic abduction of Ukrainian children is not covered enough in Western media. She said: "This is a very painful topic for us. Russia systematically abducts Ukrainian children, and we are trying to bring them back."

> This is a very painful topic for us. Russia systematically abducts Ukrainian children, and we are trying to bring them back.
## The scale of the abductions
Tens of thousands of children have been stolen, abducted, forcibly transferred or deported since the war began. Moscow has not returned most of the children taken since it invaded.
## What the world can do
Zelenska said increasing pressure on Russia to provide information is the first step, along with increasing sanctions and attention to the topic. She told Diss: "We need help so that we are not fighting this battle alone."

> We need help so that we are not fighting this battle alone.
## Defending Ukrainian identity
When asked about Russian plans to eradicate Ukrainian culture, Zelenska said: "When we are forbidden from being ourselves, we defend our rights. This is also one of the reasons why we still have the strength to endure this terrible war."

> When we are forbidden from being ourselves, we defend our rights.
## Children cannot feel safe
Reflecting on life before the war, Zelenska told Diss: "We know how to live without the war, how to have normality, and now it is all broken. And our children, they cannot feel safe."

> We know how to live without the war, how to have normality, and now it is all broken. And our children, they cannot feel safe.
## Key takeaway

Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska says Western media underreports Russia's systematic abduction of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children since the invasion began.