Since the start of the full-scale war, more than 400 children have been forcibly deported from Kharkiv region to Russia. Several children have been returned to Ukraine thanks to the work of the President’s Office.
Kharkiv Regional Military Administration head Oleh Sinehubov said this during a briefing, Suspilne reports.
According to the head of the administration, the first cases of the illegal deportation of children to Russia were recorded during the de-occupation of parts of Kharkiv region in spring and autumn 2022.
“According to our information, more than 400 children were forcibly deported from across Kharkiv region. That is based on our information – it is quite difficult to verify, because Russia, as we understand, does not communicate on this issue through any organisations,” Sinehubov said.
He also noted that there were several cases in which children were able to be returned to Ukraine: “It was titanic work by the President’s Office together with all the relevant bodies, services, special units and everything else,” the head of the administration said.
- Since the start of the full-scale war, as part of efforts to bring illegally taken Ukrainian children home, it has already been possible to return almost 2,400 children from temporarily occupied territories and Russia.