Children forcibly taken by occupants returned to Mykolaiv region

Children who were deported or forcibly removed during the war continue to be returned to the Mykolaiv region. In 2025 alone, 30 children were returned to the region, and since the beginning of 2026, three more have been returned.

This was reported by Iryna Ponomaryova, Head of the Children's Service of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, during a briefing .

According to her, since 2022, a total of 45 children have returned to the region after deportation. Among those returned this year is a child with a disability. After returning, three children received the status of being deprived of parental care and are now provided with all the necessary services.

In addition, all returned children receive the status of victims of hostilities and armed conflict.

It is also noted that in 2025, after the occupation and forced removal from children's institutions, eight more children were returned to the region, some of whom have already reached the age of majority.

At the same time, the consequences of the war remain severe: 98 children were granted the status due to the loss of parents or their disappearance under special circumstances. Three more children became orphans or deprived of parental care because of the war.

Earlier, Intent wrote that the children from the Kherson Children's Home, who were illegally taken by the Russian military in 2022, were found on the Russian state portal for adoption.

To recap, Yale University has released a study on the involvement of Russian state-owned companies Gazprom and Rosneft in the deportation and "re-education" of Ukrainian children.

Earlier, the UN International Commission of Inquiry concluded that the removal of Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories by Russia is a crime against humanity. In addition, the commission considers the delay in their return to Ukraine a war crime.

Андрій Колісніченко