In the Kherson region, nearly 7 million hryvnias will be paid to the returned children

In the Kherson region, children who have been successfully returned from Russia, Belarus, and the temporarily occupied territories will receive a one-time financial assistance payment from the regional budget. Each child will be paid 30,000 hryvnias.

The decision was adopted at a meeting of the regional commission chaired by Yevhen Ignatenko, deputy head of the Kherson Regional State Administration.

Commission members reviewed the submitted applications and approved financial assistance for 228 children.

The total amount of funding is 6 million 840 thousand hryvnias. The funds will be allocated from the regional budget.

The assistance will go to children who have been successfully returned from Russia, Belarus, and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

According to data presented at the press conference “Return of Abducted Ukrainian Children,” Russia has taken 20,610 children from the occupied territory of Ukraine, of whom 2,368 have been returned to Ukraine as of today—more than 500 children were returned in 2026 alone. 

Oksana Chervyakova, the Children’s Rights Representative of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, spoke about the increase in the number of returns .

She noted that a large number of young people returned to Ukraine in June and July 2026. These children and young adults, who consciously choose Ukraine and remember it, waited until they turned 18 to cross the border on their own.

According to her, while previously there were only a few such cases, now more than 10 young people are returning in just one week. Chervyakova attributes this trend to the university admissions campaign, the government’s efforts to inform children, as well as support, rehabilitation, and financial assistance programs that have been implemented and continue to expand.

Kateryna Rashevska, a children’s rights advocate and lawyer with the NGO “Regional Center for Human Rights,” spoke about efforts to hold those involved in the deportations of Ukrainian children accountable.

According to her, 25 individuals are already under suspicion of committing unlawful deportation and forced displacement.

At least 581 criminal cases have been initiated regarding the indoctrination of Ukrainian children, and another 28 criminal cases regarding their militarization, the human rights advocate added.

Ірина Глухова