Ukraine brings back 11 children from Russian occupation, including toddler and teens subjected to military training
Ukraine has returned 11 children, the youngest just 16 months old, from Russian-occupied parts of Kherson Oblast, where some were forced to undergo weapons and combat drone training or faced threats of separation from their families, regional officials said on Oct. 12.
The group includes seven boys and four girls aged between 16 months and 17 years, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration.
Their return was organized with the assistance of the charity Save Ukraine under the presidential Bring Kids Back UA initiative.
Prokudin said a 16-year-old boy had survived an armed raid on his home by Russian troops. At a school operating under Russian occupation, children were forced to learn how to handle weapons and operate combat drones.
Another teenager, aged 17, was threatened into attending a Russian-run school and later forcibly registered for military service, according to Prokudin. His family also endured repeated armed searches.
The family of an eight-year-old girl was threatened with having her placed in an orphanage unless she attended a Russian school. Children there were made to participate in propaganda activities, including drawing cards for Russian soldiers.
All 11 children are now in Ukrainian-controlled territory and receiving assistance, Prokudin said.
According to the regional governor, 219 children have been brought back from Russian-occupied parts of Kherson Oblast since the beginning of 2026.
The return comes amid continuing international efforts to address Russia's removal and treatment of Ukrainian children. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova over alleged unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied Ukrainian territory.