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Reintegration Ministry: Ukraine brings home 17-year-old boy from Russian-occupied territory

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Reintegration Ministry: Ukraine brings home 17-year-old boy from Russian-occupied territory
Ukrainian family waiting for train in station, Ukrainian war concept. Photo for illustrative purposes (Getty Images)

Ukraine brought back a 17-year-old boy, Denys, from Russian-held territories in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the Reintegration Ministry reported on May 15.

Over 19,500 children have been confirmed abducted by Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and less than 400 of them have been brought back home, according to the Children of War database.

The Reintegration Ministry brought the boy back in cooperation with the non-governmental union Ukrainian Child Rights Network.

Denys is an orphan. He had been living in the Russian-occupied territories under the supervision of his neighbor and searching for options to move to Ukraine-controlled territory since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, according to the ministry's statement.

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Ukraine Weekly By Olga Rudenko

Denys's aunt previously appealed to the ministry to help in bringing the boy back. Currently, Denys lives under his aunt's guardianship.

The boy will soon head to the rehabilitation center in the city of Truskavets in Lviv Oblast for further recovery, the ministry said.

The day before, Ukraine rescued six children from Russian-occupied territories in Kherson Oblast.

A total of 84 children have been reportedly brought back from Russian-occupied territory in Kherson Oblast since the beginning of 2024.

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Kateryna Hodunova

News Editor

Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

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