Ukraine returns five children from Russia and TOT

The children are aged from 11 to 16. They were returned from the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia regions.

Ukraine has returned five more children from the temporarily occupied territories (TOT) and Russia, the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, announced on Telegram on Saturday, March 29.

"Among those rescued is a 10-year-old boy who remained under occupation for a long time with his sick grandmother. When the war began, his mother was in another city. She tried several times, risking everything, to pick up her son on her own, but to no avail. Now the family is together again and safe on the territory of Ukraine," Yermak wrote.

He noted that this return was made possible thanks to the efforts of the President of Ukraine's Bring Kids Back UA initiative, in particular the Ombudsman's Office. He also thanked Qatar for its mediation in the return of the children.

In turn, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets clarified that the children are aged from 11 to 16. They were returned from the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia regions.

Among those returned is a 12-year-old girl whose parents are divorced and whose father is in Russian captivity. Over the three years of the full-scale invasion, the girl has changed her place of residence twice and has had conflicts with her mother. Over the past year, the child's mental and physical health have significantly deteriorated.

"Fortunately, we helped the grandmother obtain custody of the girl. In the future, the child will be provided with all necessary assistance," Lubinets assured.

Also among the returned children was a boy who lived with his father, but was systematically subjected to harsh treatment by him. Despite the facts of physical violence against the child, local "social services" were in no hurry to help the child.

"The mother tried to take the boy out on her own, but the attempts were unsuccessful. And only thanks to an appeal to our office and the involvement of the constant mediator of the State of Qatar, the mother and her son were reunited," the commissioner noted.

As a reminder, as of March 27, Ukraine had returned 1,247 children forcibly deported by Russia . At the time, Lubinets assured that this figure would increase in the near future.

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