The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

Ombudsman: 12-year-old boy returned after nearly 2 years under Russian control

by Nate Ostiller December 22, 2023 1:22 PM 1 min read
A 12-year-old Ukrainian boy after being returned from 22 months under Russian control (Dmytro Lubinets/Telegram)
This audio is created with AI assistance

A 12-year-old Ukrainian boy was returned after 22 months under Russian occupation and control, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported on Dec. 22.

The boy initially went to visit his father in Luhansk Oblast just days before the beginning of the full-scale invasion and then was stuck under Russian occupation in the oblast for 18 months. He then spent another four months on Russian territory and was forced to attend Russian school.

Lubinets said that the boy's mother was unable to retrieve her son because she is a soldier in Ukraine's military.

The Ombudsman's office was able to arrange a way for the boy to finally come home 22 months later.

The Ukrainian government has identified over 19,500 children who have been deported or forcibly displaced by Russia, less than 400 of whom have been returned to Ukraine.

Stolen generation. Russia systematically abducts children from Ukraine, gives them to Russian families
Editor’s Note: The story is based on the documentary Uprooted, published by the Kyiv Independent’s War Crimes Investigation Unit. Russia is systematically deporting Ukrainian children from the occupied part of Ukraine against their will – which constitutes genocide according to one of the five defi…

News Feed

8:08 PM

Ukrainians react to US proposal of recognizing Crimea as Russian.

The U.S. media outlet Axios reported on April 23 that the U.S. President Donald Trump administration's final proposal for ending the Russia-Ukraine war included the U.S. de jure recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea and de facto recognizing its control of other occupied Ukrainian territories. We asked Kyiv residents for their reactions to the U.S. proposal.
7:21 PM  (Updated: )

Trump says 'nobody is asking' Ukraine to recognize Crimea as Russian.

"Nobody is asking (President Volodymyr) Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory, but if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?" U.S. President Donald Trump wrote.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.