Ukraine manages to return seven more children from occupation

According to Ukrinform, the head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, reported this in Telegram.

“Their age is from 3 to 17 years old. They and their families spent a long time in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The families faced persecution: adults were forced to repeatedly undergo interrogations, children were forced to attend “patriotic education lessons” and other public events aimed at spreading Russian propaganda narratives among young people,” Yermak said.

According to him, if Ukrainians refused to obtain a Russian passport, they were denied employment and access to medical services. Russian authorities threatened to deprive Ukrainians of parental rights if their children did not attend a Russian school. 

“The fact that he continues to study online at a Ukrainian school, 17-year-old Daniil from Luhansk region concealed for the safety of his family. Despite all the risks, the boy received a certificate of complete secondary education. Now he dreams of entering the Cherkasy Institute of Fire Safety named after the Heroes of Chornobyl of the National University of Civil Defense of Ukraine,” said Yermak. 

According to Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, the children of their four families were returned from Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk regions.

According to Mr. Lubinets, the children primarily need schooling, psychological and humanitarian assistance, and social integration. Therefore, the state, together with responsible public and charitable organizations, will provide everything necessary to ensure a stable environment for the growth of young Ukrainians. 

“If your child has gone missing and you, as his or her legal representative, do not know his or her whereabouts, be sure to report this fact to the National Police of Ukraine by calling 102. If you are convinced that your child has been deported to Russia or is in the TOT, you should notify us, the Ombudsman's Office, in addition to the police,” Lubinets added. 

You can contact the following contacts: hotline 0 800 50 17 20 - within Ukraine, 044 299 74 08 - for calls from abroad, e-mail - hotline@ombudsman.gov.ua. 

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on September 30, three more children and their mother were returned to the government-controlled territory of Ukraine as part of the initiative of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Bring Kids Back UA from the temporarily occupied Donetsk region.