Six more children brought back to Ukraine from temporarily occupied territories – photos
Ukrainian families, including six children, have managed to leave the territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts temporarily occupied by Russia.
Source: Dmytro Lubinets, Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) Commissioner for Human Rights, on Telegram
Details: The parents say that their children were forced to study in Russian schools during the occupation, where young Ukrainians were involved in celebrating Russian holidays.
Ukrainians were also pressured to obtain Russian-issued documents, and armed Russians broke into their houses and conducted unreasonable searches.
Quote from Dmytro Lubinets: "The feeling of disempowerment, limitation, and the realisation of what the future holds for the children was the impetus for leaving. Families with children from Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts are now in the safety they desperately needed."
One of the families managed to reach territory controlled by Ukraine, visited the Child Protection Centre and asked government officials for the help they needed.
The other family received support from the regional office of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) Commissioner for Human Rights' office and social organisations.
Quote from Dmytro Lubinets: "I emphasise once again that Ukraine is ready to bring back everyone and will provide basic humanitarian, medical, psychological and social assistance. And law enforcement officers will record all the crimes committed by the Russians that our children witnessed or suffered."
Lubinets recalls that the legal representatives of a child who is in the temporarily occupied territory or has been deported to Russia can contact the National Police of Ukraine for help by calling 102.
Relatives should also notify Dmytro Lubinets' office by calling the hotline 0 800 50 17 20 (within Ukraine), 044 299 74 08 (for calls from abroad), or emailing hotline@ombudsman.gov.ua.
Background: Twenty-three Ukrainian children, including three orphans, were liberated in early August and brought back to Ukraine from the temporarily occupied territories.
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