Ukraine has returned 14 children from occupied territories.

The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets reported that 14 children had been returned from the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. This was made possible thanks to the work of the Bring Kids Back UA team.

In particular, one family tried multiple times to leave the territories on their own, but they were always returned under threat. Another case involves a family hiding from the Russian authorities due to their pro-Ukrainian stance.

People reported that in the occupied territories they lived in fear, had no access to work or education, were subjected to searches, and faced threats concerning their property and parental rights. They also experienced repression from the “new” authorities. 

The state, together with public and charitable organizations, will provide all necessary conditions for the growth of the returned children.

Number of returned children remains small

Analyst of the Ukrainian Helsinki Union for Human Rights Aksana Filipishina said that Russia has deported almost 20,000 Ukrainian children, but the number of returned ones remains small. She assumes that the children being returned did not have any relation to the deportation.

The Russian authorities continue to deport Ukrainian children, relocate them to other regions, or send them to Russia. This creates a serious threat to the children and their families. Recently, it is planned to deport more than 12,000 children from the Luhansk region to Russia.