Ukraine returns children from occupied territories
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Ukrainian authorities and volunteer groups brought five children, their mother, and two young people back from areas of Ukraine currently under Russian occupation.
The group included brothers Ihor, Andrii, and Dmytro, along with their mother, who lived in a town occupied following the full-scale invasion. While living under occupation, Andrii and Dmytro were compelled to participate in activities promoting Russian culture, including singing the Russian national anthem and studying a curriculum containing Russian propaganda.
The occupation authorities also pressured the family to accept Russian passports. Experts from the Ukrainian Child Rights Network and The Humanity Funds assisted the family in leaving the occupied territory and are now supporting their reintegration into Ukrainian society and the education system. Alongside the family, Albina and Viacheslav independently sought to leave occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Albina reached the Belarus-Ukraine border at Mokrany-Domanove but needed help with documentation to cross.
Volunteers from Helping to Leave provided guidance and helped her obtain a certificate allowing her return to Ukraine, where she is now with family. Viacheslav also used the Helping to Leave network to plan his escape, and even brought two cats belonging to a friend with him during his journey.
