Ukraine brings back 23 children from temporarily occupied territories

As part of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative, a group of 23 Ukrainian children and teenagers has been rescued from territories temporarily occupied by Russian forces.

According to Ukrinform, Head of the Presidential Office Andrii Yermak reported this on Telegram.

He said that two sisters, aged 11 and 14, had been forced by the occupiers to attend a Russian school. The invaders threatened their mother that if she refused, they would take the children away.

One of the teenagers was left without guardians after the occupation and was coerced into obtaining a Russian passport. However, he firmly refused to attend a Russian school.

A small girl and her mother were once denied permission to leave the occupied area because a relative served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since then, the family had lived under constant pressure and without any official documents.

“Today, all the rescued children are safe. They are receiving medical, psychological, and humanitarian assistance, restoring their documents, and gradually returning to a peaceful life. I am grateful to Save Ukraine, the Joint Center of the Security Service of Ukraine for coordinating the search and release of prisoners of war and illegally detained persons, and to all partners for helping save these children,” Yermak emphasized.

As Ukrinform previously reported, Ukraine recently brought back two families with children from territories temporarily occupied by Russia.