This week the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes over the alleged abduction of thousands of children since Moscow's invasion of its neighbour.
The Italian grandparents have made an appeal via local newspapers, saying they are worried about their grandson, Roman.
The child was born in Verona to an Italian father and a Ukrainian mother.
The mother took the child, who is at the centre of a custody dispute, back to Ukraine, in the Donbass region, when he was three months old and the couple has divorced, according to the reports.
The grandparents said they have not seen the boy in person since 2018.
They said the mother allowed them to have video calls with the child, who does not speak Italian, for a while, but then put a stop to them.
The child's Italian relatives said the mother worked for the Ukraine secret services but then switched allegiance to the pro-Russian separatists.
"We appeal to the Convention on the Rights of the Child," the family said in a statement.
"Despite the involvement of the Italian consulate in Ukraine and the various attempts made, the mother broke off all contract about a year ago".
In other related news, a group of around 20 Ukrainian soldiers has completed a training programme in Italy, sources said on Sunday.
Il Fatto Quotidiano reported that the training took place at Sabaudia, in the province of Latina to the south of Rome, and included instructon on the Samp-T anti-missile system.
Italy and France have agreed to supply the system to Kyiv to help it defend its cities from Russian air attacks.
ANSA
