Ukraine returns 13 children from Russian occupation, NGO says
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Ukraine has returned 13 children and teenagers from Russian-occupied territories over the past week, Mykola Kuleba, founder of the humanitarian organization Save Ukraine, announced on Nov. 6.
"We will not stop as long as thousands of Ukrainian children remain trapped in a hostile system that seeks to break them every day," Kuleba said.
According to Kuleba, the children had endured threats, psychological pressure, and life-threatening conditions under Russian occupation.
The operation was carried out with the support of partners under President Volodymyr Zelensky's Bring Kids Back UA initiative. It comes amid Russia's ongoing efforts to indoctrinate and militarize Ukrainian children living under occupation.
Among those brought back was 13-year-old Andrii, who lived in a town where Russian combat drones deliberately targeted civilians, according to Kuleba. Russian occupation authorities threatened to strip his parents of custody unless he attended a Russian-run school. There, he was subjected to propaganda, forced to draw Russian soldiers, and required to take ideological tests.
Russian troops also seized the home of another returned teenager, 18-year-old Luka. He was forced to attend a school under Russian occupation, where teenagers were openly recruited into the Russian military. After turning 18, Luka received a military draft notice despite having serious health problems, Kuleba said.
Thriteen-year-old Nina was also among those returned. Her parents faced threats of violence for refusing to send her to a Russian-controlled school, where students were forced to sing the Russian national anthem daily and wear St. George ribbons, a symbol associated with Russian military patriotism.
The children are now receiving psychological support, rehabilitation, and assistance with restoring their documents at Save Ukraine's Hope and Recovery centers, Kuleba said.
Save Ukraine has helped rescue more than 1,800 children from Russia and Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, according to the organization.
More than 582,000 Ukrainian children were studying in nearly 2,000 schools operating under Russian educational standards in occupied territories during the 2025–2026 academic year.
A Kyiv Independent investigation published in October 2025 also documented Russia's systematic indoctrination and military training of Ukrainian children, including pressure on families to enroll their children in Russian-run schools.
Russia has also introduced additional bureaucratic restrictions to prevent children from leaving occupied territories, Bring Kids Back UA told the Kyiv Independent in September.
As of September, Ukraine's Justice Ministry had officially confirmed 20,610 cases of deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova over the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children.
