A large group of Ukrainian children from the occupied territories was saved as part of the President's Bring Kids Back UA initiative and thanks to the work of the Save Ukraine team.
Points of attention
- A large group of Ukrainian children from occupied territories were saved through the efforts of Bring Kids Back UA initiative and the Save Ukraine team.
- These children endured coercion and Russian propaganda during the occupation but were successfully brought back to safety.
- Stories of individual children like Yulia, Eva, Yarinka, Makar, and David highlight the challenges faced by Ukrainian children under occupation.
A large group of Ukrainian children returned from TOT to Ukraine
For more than three years, all of these children have endured oppression, coercion, and the imposition of Russian propaganda.
14-year-old Yulia and 9-year-old Eva were orphaned during the occupation — their mother died suddenly. The relatives wanted to take custody of the sisters, but the occupation authorities came up with a reason to delay the process and take the children to a boarding school. Fortunately, their adult sister Tamila asked for help and was able to take the girls to a safe place.
During the three years of occupation, 9-year-old Yarinka and 13-year-old Makar managed to experience all the methods of Russian education: every morning — the anthem of the Russian Federation, every week — “conversations about the important”, every holiday — drawings and letters to the Russian military. Soldiers came to the children’s lessons, demonstrating weapons and drones. The children could not refuse all this, because the parents were threatened with the removal of the children. However, the family still had to endure humiliation: when the parents were handed Russian passports, they were forced to recite the oath on camera.
The family of 17-year-old David is a believer. Despite the occupation, his parents continued to gather the community at home. Dad drove people from neighboring villages, preached and administered communion. The boy and his younger sister were also forced to go to study at a Russian school, where the children were required to participate in the military game “Zarnitsa”. But when the mother did not let the children go to the event, she was summoned to a parent-teacher meeting and publicly humiliated. The last straw was that David was registered for military service despite heart problems.
Fortunately, they were all able to leave for freedom. Today, they are all undergoing rehabilitation, receiving assistance with documents, and psychological help and support.
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:
