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Ukraine Rescues 11 Children Russia Forced to Train With Weapons and Combat Drones
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Ukraine has brought 11 children back from Russian-occupied territory in the Kherson region, including teenagers who were forced to learn how to handle weapons and operate combat drones at Russian-controlled schools.
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According to Kherson Regional Military Administration head Oleksandr Prokudin on October 12, the rescued children include seven boys and four girls, ranging in age from just 16 months to 17 years. All have reached Ukrainian-controlled territory and are receiving assistance.
Among those returned was a 16-year-old boy whose home was subjected to an armed raid by Russian soldiers. While attending a school under Russian occupation, he and other children were required to undergo training in weapons handling and combat drone operations.
Another teenager, aged 17, was threatened into attending a Russian-controlled school before being forcibly registered for military service. His family also experienced repeated armed searches by Russian forces.
An eight-year-old girl faced a different form of coercion. Russian occupation authorities threatened to remove her from her family and place her in an orphanage unless she attended a school following the Russian curriculum.
At the school, children were required to participate in Russian propaganda activities, including drawing cards for Russian soldiers. The operation was carried out with assistance from the humanitarian organization Save Ukraine under the Bring Kids Back UA initiative.
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According to Prokudin, Ukrainian authorities have returned 219 children from Russian-occupied parts of the Kherson region since the beginning of 2026.
According to Ukraine’s Bring Kids Back initiative, more than 20,000 Ukrainian children have been deported by Russia since the invasion began. By September 2026, more than 2,500 children had been returned to Ukraine.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, over the alleged unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied Ukrainian territories.
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-639d0a97447a85a7c7fbc14489070252.png "Footage showing a Ukrainian FPV interceptor drone deploying a net to bring down a Russian Molniya-2 attack drone. (Source: Ptashka Drones)")
