Eight Ukrainian children have been successfully returned from temporarily occupied territories, the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak said on Nov. 29.
The children, aged 6 to 16, were returned from Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Donetsk Oblasts, as well as Crimea.
This effort was part of the “Bring Kids Back UA” initiative. Seven children were assisted by Qatar, and one through a humanitarian corridor.
Qatar acts as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia to bring back Ukrainian children illegally held by Russia.
Some of the children endured severe hardships, including a girl with neurological conditions in Crimea who lacked access to medical care.
These children are now receiving medical and psychological support and reuniting with their families in Ukraine.
“The return of these children is a step towards restoring justice and hope,” Yermak wrote on Telegram.
According to the Ukrainian government’s database, Russia has illegally abducted over 19,500 children since February 2022, and less than 390 have returned home thus far.
Around 1.5 million Ukrainian children who remain in occupied areas of Ukraine are at high risk of being deported to Russia, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Oct. 2.
Olena Goncharova
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