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Ukraine Rescues Five Abducted Children from Russia, Some Held in “Reeducation Camps”
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Ukraine successfully rescued five more children who were illegally taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territories, Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak announced on June 12.
The operation was carried out under President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s humanitarian initiative, Bring Kids Back UA, which aims to return every Ukrainian child abducted or displaced by the Russian invasion.
“We are fulfilling the President’s mission — to bring back every Ukrainian child,” Yermak said in a statement.
According to Yermak, the group of rescued children endured a harrowing range of abuses and psychological pressure while in Russian-controlled areas.
Among the children:
A young girl who was forced to sing the Russian national anthem and draw the tricolor flag at school. She was also threatened with being registered by authorities for speaking Ukrainian.
A boy who was beaten and bullied for being Ukrainian and was coerced into performing at a May 9 celebration holding a portrait of a Russian soldier.
A child whose family home was raided three times by armed FSB officers after they refused to accept Russian passports.
A teenage girl was sent to so-called “reeducation camps,” where she was forced to run with a rifle, plant booby traps, and dig trenches.
A boy who spent three years hiding at home while studying at a Ukrainian school online. He has now been reunited with his brother, who was recently released from Russian captivity.
Yermak thanked the Save Ukraine organization and international partners who helped carry out the complex rescue mission.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Juvenile Police reported that 631 children have been killed, 1,975 injured, and 2,244 remain missing due to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
