Three more children have been brought from Russian-occupied territory in Kherson Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on May 1.
At least 19,500 children have been confirmed as abducted by Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and less than 400 of them have been returned home, according to the Children of War database.
An 11-year-old girl, who was left alone and thus could have up in an orphanage, was rescued. She was brought back thanks to the cooperation of the humanitarian NGO Save Ukraine, guardianship authorities, and the children's services, according to Prokudin.
Two boys aged nine and 13 were also rescued. Their adult brother was looking after them while he was at risk of being drafted into the Russian military. The Reintegration Ministry, the Ukrainian Child Rights Network, guardianship authorities, as well as the the children's services in Kherson Oblast were involved in the rescue mission.
Prokudin said all the children are safe and receiving the required psychological help and medical care.
According to Prokudin, 66 children from Kherson Oblast have been returned home from Russian-occupied territories since the beginning of the all-out war.
On April 25, Ukraine provided Qatar with the list of the names of 561 Ukrainian children illegally held in Russia. Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said that the Russian authorities started processing the list.
Martin Fornusek
