13 children were rescued from the occupied Kherson region

Another 13 children have been successfully returned to territory controlled by Ukraine from the temporarily occupied part of the Kherson region. Among them are five girls and eight boys aged 3 to 17, as well as one child without parental care.

This was reportedby Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration.

According to him, the children endured pressure, intimidation, and psychological abuse from the Russians while under occupation. The occupiers threatened some of them with execution while dressed in Ukrainian military uniforms.

Additionally, according to the Regional Military Administration, children with health issues were forced to register for military service, and teenagers were trained for military service: they were taught to dig trenches, shoot, and throw grenades.

Currently, all the returned children are undergoing reintegration at the “Hope and Recovery” centers. There, they receive psychological assistance, support in processing documents, and a safe place to live.

The repatriationtook place as part of the presidential initiative “Bring Kids Back UA” with the assistance of the charity organization Save Ukraine.

According to the Kherson Regional State Administration, efforts to return Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories are ongoing.

Previously, five more children were successfully returned from the temporarily occupied part of the Kherson region to territory controlled by Ukraine. Among those rescued were four children aged 9 to 16 who had been deprived of parental care, as well as one adult.

Last December, the UN adopted a resolution on Russia’s return of Ukrainianchildren. The international community overwhelmingly supported the document, which condemns the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children and demands their immediate return, as well as an end to forced adoptions and ideological indoctrination.

The resolution was supported by 91 countries, while 12 voted against it, including Russia. Despite international efforts, only 1,850 children had been returned home by that time.

Олеся Ланцман