Ukraine Rescues Five More Children Taken to Russia
Ukraine has successfully rescued five more children who were illegally taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territories, Andriy Yermak, head of the Presidential Office, announced on June 12.
The mission was part of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s humanitarian initiative Bring Kids Back UA, which is dedicated to locating and returning every Ukrainian child abducted or displaced during Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Among the rescued children is a girl who was forced to sing the Russian national anthem and draw the tricolor flag at school, under threats of punishment for speaking Ukrainian.
Another boy endured physical abuse and harassment for his Ukrainian identity and was forced to perform with a portrait of a Russian soldier at a Victory Day concert.
One child lived in constant fear after armed FSB officers raided their home three times because the family refused to accept Russian passports.
A teenage girl had been sent to so-called “re-education camps,” where she was trained to handle firearms, set booby traps, and dig trenches.
Another boy, who had spent three years hiding at home while studying remotely in a Ukrainian school, has now been reunited with his brother, a recently released prisoner of war.
Yermak expressed deep gratitude to the NGO Save Ukraine and other partners who helped organize the rescue operation. “We are fulfilling the President’s task — to bring every Ukrainian child home,” he said.
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