Two more Ukrainian teenagers have been returned from the occupied territories and Russia
Two more Ukrainian teenagers were able to return home from the temporarily occupied territories and Russia. One of them endured interrogations by the occupiers and lost his Ukrainian passport; the other lived in Russia for several years after her parents took her there at the start of the full-scale war.
The children’s stories were shared by the Bring Kids Back initiative. Their names have been changed for security reasons.
A teenager named Vlad was caught up in the full-scale invasion in the occupied part of the Kherson region. He was attending a technical college there and later worked at one of the local warehouses. In 2023, Russian soldiers detained him and took him in for interrogation. Afterward, the occupiers did not return either his cell phone or his Ukrainian passport. “In 2023, the Russians took him in for questioning, where they permanently confiscated his phone and Ukrainian passport,” Bring Kids Back reported.
After that, Vlad and his mother remained in the temporarily occupied territory for some time. The family did not dare to leave due to the danger and the difficulty of the route. Only when almost all their neighbors had left their home did they decide to evacuate. Volunteers helped them organize a safe route. After passing through the humanitarian corridor in Volyn, Vlad and his mother were able to reach his father.
Here’s another story—about Marina. Before the full-scale war began, she lived with her family in the Kyiv region. After the invasion, her parents decided to take their daughter to Russia, where their relatives lived. “Their relatives lived there, and the adults hoped the family would be safer there,” the initiative explained. The girl lived in Russia for several years, but she constantly dreamed of returning to Ukraine. Because of the war, she lost contact with her older sister, who had stayed behind.
Eventually, Marina managed to find her sister. After that, her relative reached out to the Helping to Leave team for assistance, and they helped organize the girl’s return. Upon arriving in Ukraine, Marina was met by her older sister. Now they are working together to apply for her first Ukrainian passport. “A process of adaptation and reintegration lies ahead for these young people. They will receive the necessary support and guidance to rebuild a stable and safe life,” noted Bring Kids Back.
The initiative emphasizes that upon their return, the children will receive not only assistance with paperwork but also psychological and social support to help them gradually return to normal life.
As a reminder, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) previously confirmed that Russia is systematically imposing Russian education and citizenship on Ukrainian children in the temporarily occupied territories, as well as preparing them for future conscription into its armed forces. This was reported by the Bring Kids Back initiative.
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