25 children and teenagers were rescued from occupation

Last week, the Save Ukraine team rescued 25 children and teenagers from the occupation. This was made possible thanks to the support of partners as part of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative.

Among those rescued:

🔹 Lina, 12, spent two years hiding to avoid attending the occupation-run school. Due to repeated raids, her family was eventually forced to send her to school, where children were made to raise the Russian flag and sing the Russian national anthem. The occupiers also repeatedly raided the family’s home and interrogated them. During one such raid, they confiscated Ukrainian documents.

🔹 Kseniia, 16, survived an armed raid during which Russian soldiers took her father away. Under threat, she was forced to transfer to a Russian school, where she was drawn into a propaganda movement, taught how to disassemble weapons, made to march, and forced to perform in front of Russian soldiers. She also lived in constant fear of drone attacks targeting civilians.

🔹 Yevheniia, 18, whose home was repeatedly visited by armed Russian soldiers, was forced to attend an occupation-run school, where she was humiliated for speaking Ukrainian and subjected to Russian propaganda. Russian military personnel regularly visited classes to urge teenagers to join the Russian army.

For these children and 22 others, the occupation is now behind them. They are currently undergoing reintegration at the Hope and Recovery centres, where they receive psychological support, assistance with documents, and safe shelter.

However, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children still remain under Russian control. The occupation authorities are attempting to erase their Ukrainian identity and prepare teenagers for service in the Russian army.

We sincerely thank our partners, Tatjana Kiel, We Are All Ukrainians, and the Joint Centre for Coordination of Search and Release, for their support and cooperation.

We will continue our work until every Ukrainian child returns home.