Ukraine brings back 12-year-old from occupied Kherson region

Ukraine managed to return another child from the occupied Kherson region, 12-year-old Andrii.

His older sister appealed to the Ombudsman's Office with a request to take him out of the occupation, Commissioner for Children's Rights Dmytro Lubinets says.

The boy lived in the occupied territory with his grandmother because his mother died in the summer of 2022.

During the occupation, Russian troops intimidated the child, put psychological pressure on him, and barged in home.

The boy was threatened to be taken away from his grandmother and placed in an orphanage, as he was left without a legal representative.

On January 1 of this year, Andrii and his grandmother finally got back to the territory controlled by Ukraine.

This was achieved through joint efforts of the Ombudsman's Office and the Ukrainian Child Rights Network.

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian war, the enemy forces have been taking Ukrainian children to Russia and the territories under their control. Ukraine has created a map of the camps to which children are sent.

The national resistance reports that in the occupied territories, Russian troops detain children to put pressure on their parents.

According to Ombudsman Lubinets, the deportation of more than 19,500 Ukrainian children has been officially confirmed.