“Ukraine Rescues Four Children from Russian-Occupied Territory: A New Year’s Miracle!”

In a heartwarming turn of events, Ukraine has successfully brought back four children from the Russian-occupied part of Kherson Oblast through the “Bring Kids Back UA” initiative and “Save Ukraine.” Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin made the announcement on December 31, calling it a “true New Year’s miracle.”

The children, two boys and two girls aged between 3 and 17, had endured harrowing experiences under Russian occupation, including terror, threats, and interrogations of their relatives. Since February 2022, a staggering 20,000 Ukrainian children have been abducted from Russian-occupied territories and taken to other Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine or even to Russia itself, as reported by the national database “Children of War.”

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights, estimates that up to 150,000 Ukrainian children have been unlawfully deported by Russia, while Children’s Ombudswoman Daria Herasymchuk puts the figure even higher at 200,000–300,000.

Governor Prokudin revealed that since the start of 2024, a total of 246 children from Kherson Oblast have been successfully returned from Russian occupation. A recent study from the Yale School of Public Health, published on December 3, shed light on Russia’s systematic program of deporting and forcibly assimilating Ukrainian children.

According to the study, under orders from Russian President Vladimir Putin, children were transported via military aircraft in 2022, reclassified in Russian databases as native-born, and subjected to pro-Russian re-education before being adopted into Russian families. Ukrainian children were dispersed to at least 21 regions across Russia.

In a related development, Ukraine has named pro-Russian collaborators suspected of forcibly deporting Ukrainian children. One suspect was identified by the Kyiv Independent’s War Crimes Investigations Unit in the documentary “Uprooted.”

The successful return of these four children marks a significant victory in the ongoing efforts to reunite abducted Ukrainian children with their families and protect them from further harm under Russian occupation.