Ukraine brings home 3 teenagers taken from occupied areas
Photo: Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak (Vitaliy Nosach/RBK-Ukraine)
Several Ukrainian teenagers who had been living in temporarily occupied territories for a long time have been returned to Ukraine, said the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak.
The operation to bring back the three teenagers was carried out as part of President Zelenskyy’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative.
Despite pressure and danger, all of the children continued studying in Ukrainian schools online and refused to attend Russian schools.
"They are now all on Ukrainian-controlled territory, receiving care and support, and planning to enroll in universities to gain an education and build their future in Ukraine," Yermak stated.
The head of the Presidential Office thanked the Helping to Leave team for their role in rescuing the teenagers and pledged to fulfill the President’s mission of bringing every Ukrainian child home.
Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children
Since the start of the full-scale war, Russian forces have deported around 20,000 Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories to Russia. The figure is approximate, and the actual number of abducted children may be even higher. So far, only a little over a thousand children have been successfully returned home.
Recently, as part of prisoner exchange negotiations, the Kremlin proposed swapping Ukrainian children for captured Russian soldiers.
The mass deportation of children from occupied territories was one of the key reasons the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in 2023 for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova.
