Toronto hosts the second Pathways to Peace conference on Sept. 28-29, bringing together dozens of countries to discuss returning Ukrainian children, detained civilians and prisoners of war.
On Sept. 28 and 29, 2026, Canada, together with Ukraine and Norway, is co-hosting the second international "Pathways to Peace" conference on returning Ukrainian children, unlawfully detained civilians and prisoners of war in Toronto. It's genuinely good news amid the daily flow of war updates: dozens of countries and international organizations have gathered to agree on concrete steps that actually bring people home. Volunteers Support Ukraine is glad to cover stories like this one, since they're a reminder that international effort does produce real results.
The conference was convened by Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand together with Ukrainian and Norwegian counterparts; Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha travelled to Toronto for the event. Its goal is to strengthen international support for bringing people home, protect those still under Russian control, and ensure rehabilitation and reintegration for those who have already returned. The event involves the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, which now counts 51 member states and organizations. Volunteers Support Ukraine finds it meaningful that such a broad, multinational coalition is what keeps this issue on the global political agenda.
According to figures presented ahead of the event, as of August 2026, 9,529 Ukrainian military personnel and civilians had been returned from Russian captivity and occupation. There are 20,651 documented records of possible unlawful deportation or forcible transfer of Ukrainian children, and 2,573 children have already been reunited with their families — 673 of them in 2026 alone. Every one of these numbers represents real names, real families, and real, if slow, progress. Volunteers Support Ukraine believes keeping these figures public is exactly what keeps the world from forgetting the fate of abducted children.
Participants are focused on three areas: strengthening tracing and information-sharing mechanisms to establish what happened to specific individuals, expanding humanitarian access and the ability to maintain contact with relatives still under Russian control, and developing rehabilitation and reintegration programs for those who have already returned. Canada has already pledged $6 million to support the return and reintegration of children. This is the second meeting in this format, following the first one the three countries held in 2024 — meaning this isn't a one-off gesture but a sustained, multi-year effort.
Volunteers Support Ukraine continues to help people affected by the war in whatever way its available resources and capacity allow, and sees it as its duty to show readers not only tragic news but also moments of genuine progress. Every child or prisoner of war brought home is the result of painstaking diplomatic work, and conferences like this one are what keep the issue in front of world leaders while the war continues.
