Kathrine Frich
Authorities say dozens of children and young people have been brought back and are now receiving care.
A series of recent returns to Ukrainian-controlled territory has exposed stark accounts of coercion, threats and forced assimilation experienced by minors in areas under Russian control.
Children returned
Seventeen children have been repatriated to Ukraine from territories held by Russian forces, officials report.
Among them are teenagers who describe being taken to camps and younger children rescued after prolonged separation from their parents.
A Washington Post report quoted in local coverage described the wider practice as “It’s a genocide.”
Harsh indoctrination
Mikita, 17, says he was forced to attend a so-called “military camp” near occupied Melitopol.
He describes a regimented routine: waking at 6:00 AM, standing in line, digging trenches against the clock, and training with rifles and drones for five days.
Authorities say attendance certificates were demanded and families threatened that without them a child could be denied a school diploma.
Fear and flight
Rostislav, 17, was taken after occupation forces searched his home and repeatedly intimidated his family because relatives serve in the Ukrainian armed forces, according to Pravda.ua.
Yaroslav, seven, had lived with his grandparents in Kherson after his parents left; the family fled when occupation authorities moved to “confiscate” the child.
Twelve-year-old Sonia and nine-year-old Timofei both told officials they feared attending Russian schools.
Timofei says he was forced to listen to anti-Ukrainian songs, while a classmate told Sonia: “She should be killed because she is from Ukraine.”
Aftermath and aid
All those returned are now reported to be in safe locations where they receive psychological support, help obtaining documents, and shelter.
Officials also brought back a 23-year-old mother and her baby who had lived in hiding for a year for fear of losing the child.
Ukrainian authorities say these cases is just the beginning.
They accuse Russia of a broader campaign of child transfers and coercion from occupied regions.
This article is made and published by Kathrine Frich, who may have used AI in the preparation
