Ukraine returns teenager diagnosed with diabetes deported to occupied Crimea

Denys Berezhnyi, a teenager diagnosed with diabetes, was forcibly deported to a Russian camp in occupied Crimea from his home in Kherson.

His family is hearing impaired and cannot speak, so they had no chance to resist the armed Russian troops, the Save Ukraine organization assisting in returning children reports.

The young man spent ten months in the captivity, but he managed to return home.

Denys was 17 years old when Russians took him on a school bus to the Kherson River Port to the Druzhba sanatorium in occupied Yevpatoria.

He was promised to stay there for only two weeks, allegedly on "vacation," and then return home. However, three weeks later, the checkpoints on the border with Crimea were shut.

"From the very first days, the guard to 'break down' all Ukrainian children, exerted psychological pressure on them to make them side with Russia, and forbade them to mention Ukraine. Every day at 8 a.m., Russian anthem was turned on for the children."

If children were spotted with Ukrainian symbols on their belongings or clothes, the last were burned. The "most disobedient" were locked in an isolation ward.

Denys has diabetes, so he has required insulin all the time. However, according to the organization, when he reported his illness, Russian troops neglected his request. Denys's arms and legs began to go numb.

In December 2022, all the children from Druzhba were moved to another camp, where Denys entered a maritime college in Kerch. The Russians kept demanding that he get their passport.

The teen found out about the Save Ukraine charity organization, and, using a Russian number, called it and reported all his information. Volunteers contacted him.

"At the Russian border, the FSB caught up with the guy and interrogated him for a long time. They checked his phone. On the border with Ukraine, holding a heavy bag, Denis shouted: "Glory to Ukraine."

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression, 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.