Another 13 children rescued from occupied Kherson region – authorities
Another 13 children have returned from the temporarily occupied part of Kherson region to territory controlled by Ukraine, Regional Military Administration head Oleksandr Prokudin said.
Thirteen more children have been rescued from the occupied Kherson region and returned to Ukrainian-controlled territory, according to Regional Military Administration head Oleksandr Prokudin. The rescue operation brought back seven girls and six boys, ranging in age from one year and eight months to 17 years. Prokudin shared the news on Telegram on Saturday, detailing the harrowing experiences some of these children endured under Russian occupation.
One 14-year-old boy was threatened with being separated from his family unless he attended a Russian school, where he was forced to learn a biased version of history and sing the Russian national anthem. He faced the possibility of being placed under social services supervision for expressing pro-Ukrainian sentiments. The occupiers' efforts to pressure these young Ukrainians and strip them of their Ukrainian identity are starkly illustrated by this case.
However, the children are now safe and receiving the necessary support. Prokudin attributed the successful return to the charitable organization Save Ukraine, which is part of President Zelensky's Bring Kids Back UA initiative. Since the beginning of 2026, a total of 170 children have been rescued from the temporarily occupied Kherson region.
Written by urgent.news from Interfax-Ukraine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
