Ukraine has returned two teenagers from the territories temporarily occupied by Russia. An 18-year-old boy was threatened with mobilization into the Russian army, while a 17-year-old girl was forcibly taken to Russia.
This was reported by the initiative Bring Kids Back UA.
The native city of 17-year-old Oksana was occupied by the Russians in 2014. At that time, she was forcibly relocated to Russia along with her mother. There, the girl was constantly humiliated because of her Ukrainian heritage: at school, she was not only bullied but also beaten multiple times.
"Despite the daily pressure and violence, Oksana did not lose her desire to return to Ukraine. She tried several times to get home on her own, and during her last attempt, she spent four days on the road without food.
After that, Oksana reached out for help to the Ukrainian Children's Rights Network, which helped develop a safe route and arrange all the necessary documents," the report says.
Today, the girl is already in Ukraine and plans to enroll in higher education.
Another teenager returned to Ukraine is 18-year-old Andriy.
"Constant moral pressure was accompanied by a real threat of being drafted into the Russian army. Russian soldiers watched the boy’s house and pursued him. The fear that one day he could be forced to fight against his own homeland became his biggest fear and the motivation to leave," explained the human rights defenders.
Andriy tried to escape on his own several times but without success. His sister had previously managed to escape the occupation, and it was she who advised her brother to contact the Ukrainian Children's Rights Network.
"This time, the attempt was successful: our partners' team created a safe route and helped the boy cross the border. Now Andriy is safe in the territory controlled by Ukraine, close to his sister," the message reads.
According to human rights defenders' estimates, about 1.5 million Ukrainian children are currently in Russian-occupied territories.
