12 children and their families were returned from the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Kherson regions.
Points of attention
- In the occupied territories, Russian passports were imposed on children and rights to medical care and social guarantees were restricted.
- Russia abducted about 20,000 Ukrainian children during the war, but thanks to the efforts of Ukraine, 736 of them were returned.
- The documentary "Abducted Childhood" reveals the truth about the abduction of Ukrainian children by the Russian occupiers in the temporarily occupied territories.
What is known about the return of Ukrainian children from the territories occupied by Russia
The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, announced the return of Ukrainian children.
Fortunately, they are already in territory controlled by Ukraine. Each family experienced the mess made by the occupying "power" in its own way.
Dmytro Lubinets
Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights
According to Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian families in the occupied territories were forced to take Russian passports, because without "new documents" the citizens were without rights and could not use any social guarantees or medical care.
Doctors do not accept even children with birth defects who need careful care. However, parents are encouraged to send their children to "rehabilitation," which often involves deportation or forced relocation. Some children had to attend "Russian schools" in which active campaigning for "Russian peace" was carried out.
According to the returnees, the Russians at the TOT detain, beat, torture with electric shock, exert psychological pressure on adults, and children are interrogated without the presence of their parents and also use torture methods. Groundless searches are also regularly carried out in the homes of residents.
What is known about the abduction of Ukrainian children by the Russians
736 children abducted by Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion were returned to Ukraine.
According to official data, Russia has abducted about 20,000 children from the occupied territories of Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war.
In 2023, the Online.UA team presented the documentary "Abducted Childhood", which reveals the truth about Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
