Seven more Ukrainian children and adolescents were returned from the territories temporarily occupied by the Russians as part of the initiative of the President of Ukraine Bring Kids Back UA and with the assistance of the Save Ukraine team.
Points of attention
- Seven Ukrainian children and teenagers returned from territories temporarily occupied by Russians with the help of Bring Kids Back UA initiative and Save Ukraine team.
- Young Ukrainian people faced physical and psychological torture due to their nationality or faith in the occupied territories.
7 more children returned from TOT to Ukraine
This is, in particular, about 17-year-old Solomiya. FSB representatives broke into her home, illegally searched and checked her gadgets, pointing their weapons at her mother. They threatened to take Solomiya to a boarding school and send her mother “to the basement.” After what she experienced, the girl began to suffer from panic attacks and severe insomnia.
18-year-old Artem was handcuffed to a battery by military police and tortured for two hours for answering in Ukrainian. The boy was beaten with rubber batons on his torso and legs, plastic collars were tightened on his hands, and he was threatened with death, calling him a “Khokhlo.”
Kostya, 18, had been religiously persecuted in his Protestant community since childhood and had faced humiliation at school because of his faith. He was forced to register for military service and undergo ideological tests regarding his attitude towards the Russian army. Soon, he was scheduled to be mobilized for military service.
18-year-old Ostap repeatedly heard threats at school from a teacher who collaborated with the special services. The teacher openly declared: “I can make any of you simply disappear.” The young man has repeatedly witnessed children being bullied for their pro-Ukrainian stance.
Today, all rescued children and adolescents are safe. They receive psychological support, assistance with documents, and housing at the Hope and Recovery centers.
To learn more about Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children, watch the documentary "Damaged Childhood," created by Ukrainian independent media and video production company Online.UA:
