Ukraine Returns 11 More Children from Temporarily Occupied Territories

Ukraine has successfully returned another eleven children from the Kherson region who found themselves in temporary occupation. This was reported by the head of the Kherson Regional Military-Civil Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, according to Ukrinform. 

It is reported that two orphaned girls aged 10 and 13 were returned to Ukrainian-controlled territory. Among the rescued were also nine children who have parents or one of them - five girls and four boys aged from one to 16 years old.

"The return of children became possible thanks to the charitable organization Save Ukraine, guardianship authorities, as well as the Child Affairs Service of the region and parents of the children. Grateful to everyone who helps Ukrainian citizens move to free land," said Oleksandr Prokudin.

Currently, the returned children are receiving all necessary medical and psychological assistance. The head of the administration also noted that since the beginning of 2024, 78 children from the Kherson region who were held in occupation have been returned to Ukraine.

It should be noted that in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, Russians are trying to "re-educate" children and convince them that the Ukrainian nation does not exist.

In particular, in Melitopol, Russian forces are preparing Ukrainian children for war, forcibly involving schoolchildren in military organizations and cadet classes. Representatives of Russian military formations, together with propagandists, also visit orphanages in the occupied territories and use orphaned children to promote war.

Occupants are also actively conducting propaganda campaigns in local schools, including in the Kherson region, where the Russian administration has imported 34,000 Russian textbooks with Kremlin propaganda narratives.

Recall that The Gaze reported that the head of the Ukrainian human rights organization "Almenda," Maria Sulyalina, received a prestigious award "Civil Rights Defender of The Year 2024" in Sweden. This award recognizes outstanding human rights defenders who advocate civil and political rights of people at great personal risk. Sulyalina received the award for her work documenting evidence of Russian war crimes against children in Ukraine.