19 children and teenagers returned from the occupation, where they were being Russified

The Save Ukraine team evacuated another 19 Ukrainian children and teenagers from temporarily occupied territories last week. They are all now safe. Under Russian occupation, the children faced pressure, Russification, and militarization.

Among those evacuated were children and teenagers who had been forced to participate in Russian propaganda, trained to handle weapons, or put at risk of being recruited into the army:

• A 17-year-old boy was blackmailed into attending Russian educational institutions. There, teenagers were taught to use weapons, grenades, and drones, and were also involved in collecting aid for Russian troops and taking part in propaganda events.
• A 9-year-old girl was forced to sing the Russian Federation anthem, write letters to Russian soldiers, and participate in propaganda movements at an occupation-run school. The use of Ukrainian was banned at the school.
• An 18-year-old young man was beaten after being suspected of espionage. He was then registered for military service, putting him at risk of being forcibly recruited into the Russian army.

The children are now undergoing rehabilitation, receiving psychological support, and restoring their documents.

The evacuation was carried out with the support of partners as part of the presidential initiative Bring Kids Back UA. In total, Save Ukraine has helped bring more than 1,800 Ukrainian children back from occupation.

We previously reported:

• Another 11 children returned from Russian occupation in the Kherson region
• Five children aged 3 to 15 returned from occupied Kherson region
• Sixteen children returned from occupied Kherson region: a 17-year-old was forced to take a Russian passport and prepared for conscription
• Thirteen children returned from occupied Kherson region
• An aggressor country’s anthem instead of lessons: the story of children abducted from Mykolaiv region