10 Ukrainian children have been returned from the occupied Kherson region

Another 10 children, ranging in age from two to seventeen, have been successfully returned from the temporarily occupied part of the Kherson region to territory controlled by Ukraine. The children are now safe and receiving assistance.

This was reported by Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional State Administration.

Among those rescued is a six-year-old boy who grew up under constant shelling and attacks by Russian drones. As a result of his ordeal, he suffered psychological trauma and was afraid to go outside or interact with others. 

A 17-year-old girl who was rescued survived a direct hit by a Russian drone on her own room. She was also forced to attend a school run by the occupying forces under threat of violence. 

A 16-year-old boy lived virtually in isolation for four years. His family hid him at home so that the occupiers would not force him to study under the Russian curriculum or draft him into the military. However, one day the occupiers broke into their home, searched the premises, and threatened the boy and his family.

According to Oleksandr Prokudin, since the beginning of 2026, 180 children have already been returned from the temporarily occupied part of the Kherson region.

Earlier, in occupied Crimea, the Russians recruited teenagers as young as 14 to participate in drone-piloting competitions as part of the so-called “Crimean Drone League.” Such activities are part of a systematic effort to militarize Ukrainian children in the occupied territories with the aim of subsequently recruiting them into the Russian army.

Юлія Калабайда