Nine Children Rescued From Occupied Territories in Latest Bring Kids Back UA Mission

Nine Ukrainian children have been rescued from temporarily occupied territories as part of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative, according to Andrii Yermak, Head of the Office of the President, on May 22.

The children endured severe hardships under Russian occupation. Among them is a girl evacuated in critical condition due to a lack of medical care, and a boy who was held in a basement with his mother while Russian forces tortured his father in a nearby room. At school, he was forced to praise the occupying forces.

Also rescued were two sisters who had not left their home for nearly three years because of constant shelling and the presence of Russian military equipment in the area. Another girl was denied access to Ukrainian education after occupiers blocked communication networks, making online learning impossible.

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The rescue mission was carried out with support from the Save Ukraine team and partner organizations.

“Grateful to the Save Ukraine team and partner organizations for their support in organizing this rescue mission. We are fulfilling the President’s mandate — to bring every child home,” Yermak stated.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had accused the social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, of censoring information about Russian war crimes, particularly the killing and injury of Ukrainian children.

According to MFA spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, the platform flagged a post from the ministry’s official account as “graphic content” and restricted its visibility. The post included statistical data on child casualties resulting from Russia’s full-scale invasion: at least 616 children killed and 1,869 injured.