As part of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Bring Kids Back UA initiative and the Stolen Voices information campaign, a Ukrainian delegation led by Daria Herasymchuk, Advisor – Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights and Child Rehabilitation, visited Botswana.
During meetings with Minister of International Relations Phenyo Butale, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ramaotwana Nelson Ramaotwana, and representatives of the Ombudsman's Office, the Ukrainian delegation spoke about the systematic abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia and presented the Bring Kids Back UA initiative.
Daria Herasymchuk called on government officials and civil society to support Ukrainian initiatives to save children. She emphasized the crucial importance of Botswana joining the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children and advocating for this initiative among other African countries.
The Ukrainian delegation included Ivan and Vlad, Ukrainian children who were returned home. They shared their experiences with Botswana media, students and local schoolchildren.
During the occupation of Kherson, Vlad was forcibly sent to a camp where he was kept in isolation, forced to take pills and threatened with placement in a psychiatric hospital. Ivan, who had been deprived of parental care, was detained with a friend while attempting to evacuate Mariupol; he was sent to Donetsk and prepared for transfer to Russian families.
In addition, the Ukrainian delegation presented the film “Abducted Childhood” and held a panel discussion on Russian crimes against Ukrainian children.
“We are working to ensure that such crimes never happen again. Together with our international partners, we must bring back every abducted child,” Daria Herasymchuk noted.
