As part of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Bring Kids Back UA initiative, 15 Ukrainian children have been rescued from occupation.
Daria Zarivna, the initiative’s operations director and advisor to the head of the President’s Office, shared the news on Telegram.
“These 15 children were living under occupation, with their families facing persecution and pressure,” Zarivna stated.
Among those rescued is a mother who refused to accept Russian documents, resulting in threats to take her children away and force them into a Russian school. Three 17-year-old boys fled after being conscripted into the Russian army, with one even kidnapped and forcibly taken to a military enlistment office. A young boy in kindergarten endured severe bullying simply for being Ukrainian, while an infant born during the war was denied medical care for nearly 18 months because the mother insisted on a Ukrainian birth certificate. Two other children, after losing their mother, ended up in a Russian shelter where they were being prepared for adoption into Russian families.
“I am grateful to Save Ukraine for facilitating this rescue mission and ensuring that these children have finally returned to their families. We will not stop until every Ukrainian child is home, safe, and surrounded by their loved ones,” Zarivna emphasized.
