Ukraine returns another 12 children from occupied territories
Illustrative photo: Ukraine has returned another 12 children from occupied territories (Getty Images)
Ukraine has managed to return another 12 children from Russian occupation. This happened as part of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, according to the head of the Office of the President, Andriy Yermak, on Telegram.
As Yermak explained, the rescued children endured unbearable hardships: a 16-year-old girl who lost her mother due to the negligence of the occupying forces' medical care, a 17-year-old teenager who was issued a draft notice for the Russian army, and children who experienced attempts at russification through "re-education camps."
Additionally, an 8-year-old girl was returned to Ukraine after an attempt to seize her from her father for refusing to accept Russian citizenship.
"I express my sincere gratitude to our partners, Save Ukraine, for their professional work and dedicated assistance in organizing the rescue mission. Every child saved is a victory. And we continue to carry out the president's mission — to bring all the children back home, to Ukraine," Yermak wrote.
Deportation of Ukrainian children
Earlier, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated that since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Russian Federation has deported more than 19,500 children from Ukraine.
The deportation of Ukrainian children was the reason for the International Criminal Court in The Hague issuing arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova.
