Ukraine brings back five more children from TOT, Russia

That is according to Andrii Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, who announced the news on Telegram, as reported by Ukrinform.

“Among the rescued is a 10-year-old boy who had been living under occupation with his sick grandmother. When the war started, his mother was in another town. Despite repeated, risky attempts to rescue her son on her own, she was unsuccessful. Now, the family is reunited and safe on Ukrainian territory,” Yermak informed.

He highlighted that the return was made possible through the President’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative, with support from the Ombudsman’s Office.

Yermak thanked Qatar for its mediation in facilitating the children’s return.

As Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights, noted in Telegram, the age of the children is 11 to 16. They were returned from the occupied territories of Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Among the returned children is a 12-year-old girl whose parents are divorced. Her father is held captive by Russia. Over the three years of full-scale war, she was relocated twice, experienced conflicts with her mother, and suffered a severe decline in both her mental and physical health.

Thanks to Ombudsman’s office, her grandmother was granted guardianship, and the girl will now receive comprehensive care.

Another child, a boy who lived with his father, endured systematic abuse. Despite physical violence, local “social services” failed to intervene. “His mother made unsuccessful attempts to rescue him on her own. Only after contacting the Ombudsman’s Office and with Qatar’s mediation, the boy was reunited with his mother,” Lubinets noted.

He added that the Ombudsman’s Office staff continuously communicated with families and assisted with the documentation process required for the children’s return.

As reported by Ukrinform, Ukraine has so far managed to repatriate 1,247 children who were illegally deported to Russia.