Twenty-three more Ukrainian children rescued from Russian occupation
Twenty-three children, including three orphans, have been returned to Ukrainian-controlled territory from Russian-occupied territories in Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, and Luhansk oblasts, Save Ukraine founder Mykola Kuleba reported on Facebook on Aug. 2.
Among the rescued children is an 18-year-old boy from Enerhodar, whose father, a former employee of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, was brutally beaten in his presence. Also rescued were two sisters, aged 15 and 17, whose home was raided three times by Russian forces. The invaders used military equipment in their yard and effectively turned the family into human shields.
The group includes a 16-year-old who was repeatedly summoned for interrogation by the FSB. The agency deemed him a "criminal" for refusing to obtain a Russian passport.
Eight children — five girls and three boys, aged between six and 17 — were returned from the occupied territory of Kherson Oblast, Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.
The children reported that Russians actively encouraged them to attend Russian schools, promising 10,000 rubles ($117) as an incentive. However, these schools were often staffed by unqualified personnel, including a former janitor and a former cashier, Kuleba said.
Since the onset of the full-scale Russian invasion, the Save Ukraine fund has evacuated 446 Ukrainian children from occupied territories, he said.
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