Ukraine successfully returned five children from Russia and Russian-occupied territories as part of the "Bring Kids Back UA" initiative, Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak announced early on Dec. 10.
Among those rescued were three young Ukrainians who had just turned 18. Yermak added that two of them suffered from psychological pressure while living in Russia, and the third, a young man without family support, finally managed to leave the occupied territory.
The initiative also helped a family of four, including children aged 11 and 14, who faced persecution for their pro-Ukrainian position. They also assisted a 77-year-old woman who could not evacuate on her own. "Their stories reveal the terror and fear people endure under occupation," Yermak said.
Since February 2022, at least 20,000 Ukrainian children have been abducted from Russian-occupied territories and sent to other Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine or to Russia itself, according to a Ukrainian national database "Children of War."
The Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, estimates that Russia has unlawfully deported up to 150,000 Ukrainian children, while the Children’s Ombudswoman, Daria Herasymchuk, puts the figure at 200,000–300,000.
A Yale School of Public Health study published on Dec. 3 detailsed Russia's systematic program of deporting and forcibly assimilating Ukrainian children.
Under orders from Russian President Vladimir Putin, children were transported via military aircraft in 2022, reclassified in Russian databases as native-born, and subjected to pro-Russian re-education before being adopted into Russian families. Ukrainian children had been transported to at least 21 regions throughout Russia.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk