Russians threatened to take her baby: Young mother and child are brought back from occupied Ukraine
A 23-year-old mother and her baby have been brought back from temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. For a year, Ilona (name changed for security reasons) lived in constant fear, hiding at home to avoid losing her child.
Source: Bring Kids Back UA initiative
Details: Bring Kids Back UA was able to bring the young mother and her baby back from occupied territory with support from the Ukrainian Child Rights Network.
Ilona's hometown was seized by Russian forces in 2022. From then on, she had to fight for survival every day.
Despite the hardships of life under occupation, the young woman did everything she could to protect her newborn son.
Quote: "The occupation authorities demanded that she obtain a Russian passport and refused to issue a birth certificate for her baby without one. When she refused, the so-called 'social services' began to pressure her, threatening to take the baby away.
For a year, she lived in constant fear, hiding at home so the occupation authorities would not find her and take away her son. Her only wish was to escape and reach her elder sister, who lived in Dnipro. But without documents, money or support, it was almost impossible."
More details: In the summer, Ilona's sister contacted the Ukrainian Child Rights Network for help in bringing her home. Over the course of three months, the team got the necessary documents ready, worked out a safe route, and accompanied Ilona and her baby through every stage of the journey, which took several weeks.
The young mother and her child are now on territory controlled by Ukraine. They are receiving psychological and social support, as well as help with having their documents reissued.
Background: Earlier, two teenage boys were brought back from Russian-occupied territories, where they lived under constant surveillance and a blanket ban on anything Ukrainian.