Yermak: Another 16 Ukrainian children returned from temporarily occupied territories

Another 16 children have been returned to government-controlled territory, Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak announced on Wednesday.

"As part of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's initiative, Bring Kids Back UA managed to rescue 16 more Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories. A 15-year-old girl escaped the occupation along with her aunt after her parents and older brother were sentenced to multi-year prison terms by Russians on trumped-up charges. A 14-year-old girl and her 7-year-old sister lost their home and all their belongings after a fire completely destroyed their home. The 15-year-old girl and her parents barely left the house for three years because the family lived in daily fear that the occupiers would knock on the door and take the children away. And the occupation's ‘guardianship service’ tried to take a 10-year-old boy away from his biological parents," he wrote on Telegram on Wednesday.

According to Yermak, all the children are now safe in Ukraine, where they are receiving psychological support, restoring their documents, and taking their first steps toward a peaceful life.

The head of the President’s Office thanked the Save Ukraine team and partners for their assistance in saving the children.