Rescued a few more children from the occupied territories and the Russian Federation

Rescued a few more children from the occupied territories and the Russian Federation

The Head of the Office of the President, Andriy Yermak, announced the return of several more Ukrainian children to Ukraine, who had been taken from the occupied territories and the Russian Federation.

The stories of these children testify to the systematic pressure and persecution they were subjected to.

Among those rescued:

• A girl who was forced to sing the Russian national anthem and draw the Russian tricolor at school. She was also threatened with being registered for using the Ukrainian language.
• A boy who was beaten and bullied for being Ukrainian. He was forced to perform with a portrait of a Russian soldier at a concert on May 9th.
• A child whose home was searched three times by armed FSB officers because the family refused to obtain Russian passports.
• A girl who was in so-called "reeducation camps," where she was forced to run with a gun, set up tripwires, and dig trenches.
• A young man who hid at home for three years and studied at a Ukrainian school online and can now finally embrace his brother, who has recently returned from captivity.

The return of these children is the result of Ukraine’s and international partners’ persistent efforts regarding the deportation of Ukrainian children who are forcibly held on the territory of the Russian Federation.