Ukraine rescues 17 children from occupation, Yermak says
Seventeen children and teenagers were rescued from temporarily occupied territories as part of the president’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative, Andriy Yermak said in a Telegram post on Oct. 7.
The children — among them two 17-year-old boys, a 9-year-old boy, a 7-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl — were subjected to different forms of pressure and coercion by occupation authorities, Yermak said.
He described their cases:
A 17-year-old boy was forcibly sent to a military camp for training in combat, weapons and drones without parental consent.
Another 17-year-old was detained during a house search, had his equipment seized and was interrogated about relatives in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Yermak said authorities later returned several times and threatened the family.
A 7-year-old boy was hidden at home by his grandparents as occupation authorities prepared to “remove” him, according to Yermak.
A 12-year-old girl and her 9-year-old brother faced daily bullying at school and were told they “should be killed because they are Ukrainians,” he said.
Bring Kids Back UA is a presidential initiative launched in 2023 to coordinate Ukraine’s government, partner countries and NGOs to locate, return and reintegrate children who were illegally deported or forcibly transferred by Russia.
According to a recent Kyiv Independent investigation, an estimated 1.6 million Ukrainian children remain in territories occupied by Russia. Cut off from Ukraine’s education system, they are exposed daily to Russian propaganda, militarization and pressure to abandon their national identity.
The investigation detailed the story of one 14-year-old girl who, like one of the 17-year-old boys in this recent rescue, was forced to attend an intensive military camp.
Yermak said the 17 children rescued in this recent operation are now home in Ukraine. Authorities are providing them with assistance and restoring their documents.
“We are fulfilling the President’s task — to return all Ukrainian children,” Yermak said.
