Ukraine returns 7 children from occupied Kherson region, Crimea

Mykola Kuleba, head of the Save Ukraine charity organization, confirmed the news.

Among those returned is three-year-old Ania, whose mother, Maryna, faced threats from Kadyrov’s forces that they would take her child. Kuleba shared that Maryna was coerced into obtaining Russian documents, interrogated multiple times, and prohibited from using social media. Despite these pressures, she managed to escape with her daughter.

Another family that made it back is Lyudmyla and her 14-year-old son, Yehor. Kuleba noted that the occupiers constantly threatened to destroy Liudmyla’s Ukrainian passport and kill her.

"The woman hesitated for a long time, fearing her son might be taken at the border. Since the occupation, Yehor has become withdrawn and refuses to communicate. But the most important thing is that they are now safe and receiving the necessary support from Save Ukraine to heal," Kuleba added.

So far, a total of 508 children have been returned from occupied territories, including 115 orphans.

• On September 30, three Ukrainian children and their mother, who faced threats of having her children taken by Russian forces, were also successfully returned from the occupied areas.