A student was rescued from occupied Crimea

The Save Ukraine team rescued a 19-year-old student from occupied Crimea. The enemy had tried to send the young man to war.

This was reported by Mykola Kuleba.

Artem, 19, said that instead of taking exams, students were forced to attend meetings with Russian military officials, where they were pressured to sign contracts and forced to donate money to the occupying army. The young man also witnessed targeted repression against Crimean Tatars.

In total, last week the Save Ukraine team rescued 34 children and teenagers from the occupied territories and Russia.

Earlier, the Back to Ukraine team identified the first known case of a child from the Kherson region who had gone missing and subsequently joined the ranks of the Russian army to fight against Ukraine.

Oleksandr Mustyats fromthe village of Krynky is still listed as missing in the state registry “Children of War.” On his social media page, he posted photos of himself in uniform bearing the “Z” symbol and the Russian flag, as well as from the positions from which he fought against Ukraine. In a later photo, he is wearing a head bandage, presumably after being wounded. The young man has not updated his social media page since last November.

Mykola Kuleba noted that while this story may appear to be a personal choice, it actually illustrates what is happening to Ukrainian children who have been living under Russian occupation for years. Starting in kindergarten and school, young people are indoctrinated into the cult ofthe military; they are forced to participate in military-patriotic events, join “Yunarmiya,” taught how to handle weapons, and convinced that Ukraine is the enemy.

Юлія Калабайда

A student facing forced conscription was rescued from occupied Crimea

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