4.5 Ukraine Five cases were included in the research in Ukraine. All five cases related to families seeking international protection in Ukraine, in four there were two parents and multiple children (from the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan), and the fifth case related to a single mother from Eritrea and her child. In all cases, the child participating in the research was at risk of statelessness and the outcome sought was acquisition or confirmation of Ukrainian nationality for the child. During the research phase of the project, lawyers identified a range of barriers to each child’s acquisition or confirmation of nationality, the main one being the refusal by the State Migration Service (SMS) to accept documents relating to citizenship acquisition or confirmation from children whose parents are asylum-seekers. In each case, strategies were considered with the families, which included a range of options initially through administrative procedures before the SMS, followed by subsequent court procedures where they received a refusal from the SMS. In three cases, petitions were submitted to the ombudsperson to advocate on a range of issues, including an unlawful decision on the part of the SMS not to accept an application for one of the children due to a parent not being able to present a travel document, and a refusal by the SMS to implement a court decision in favour of one of the families. In one case, a favourable decision was received from the Appeal Court, which resulted in a positive outcome for the family; however, if it had been appealed further by the SMS there may have been the possibility to secure a precedent through a High Court procedure. Due to the escalation of the war in Ukraine in February 2022 towards the end of the research phase of the project, it has not been possible to follow-up with all the families in the research to document their current circumstances. Our project partners have bravely continued their vital work supporting refugees, internally displaced, and stateless people during the conflict, but their work has understandably shifted to respond to the urgent needs of those they work with at this time.18 Administrative and court procedures relating to statelessness determination and confirmation/acquisition of nationality were suspended in many parts of the country, and continue to be disrupted at the time of writing, although some are beginning to be restored.19 Most people seeking asylum in Ukraine, including the families that took part in this project, have left the country. The risk of statelessness for children born in Ukraine to refugee parents has increased with this further displacement. Like the 18 https://www.statelessness.eu/updates/blog/assisting-stateless-people-trapped-ukraine-report-ground For more information about statelessness in the context of the Ukraine crisis, see: https://www.statelessness.eu/statelessness-ukraine-crisis 19