Five teenagers brought back from Russian occupation
Five teenagers have been brought back from temporarily occupied territories. Some of them had been living under Russian pressure since 2014.
Source: Bring Kids Back UA, a Ukrainian government-led effort to bring Ukrainian children home from temporarily Russian-occupied territories
Details: The teenagers are now safe and will begin studying at Ukrainian institutions.
Two sisters from a large family, Natalia and Katia, are now settling into life in Ukrainian-controlled territory. Their older brothers had left the occupied territory earlier. The sisters and their mother later decided to leave the temporarily occupied territory as well. The sisters obtained documentation to return to Ukraine and successfully crossed the border. The family is now reunited.
Mariia had been living in the part of Luhansk Oblast occupied by Russia since 2014. At the time, she was only in her first year of school, so in the years that followed, she was forced to study under the Russian curriculum. She has now left and plans to finish Year 11 in Ukraine.
Kyrylo, 18, had also lived under occupation since 2014. His family supported his wish to live in Ukraine, so before turning 18 he enrolled remotely at a Ukrainian university. Just a week after his 18th birthday, he was able to leave the temporarily occupied territory.
The city where 17-year-old Mariia lived was occupied by Russia in 2022. There, the occupiers closed Ukrainian schools, but despite the risks, the girl secretly continued studying online under the Ukrainian curriculum. She managed to complete her full secondary education and enrol in college under a quota.
Mariia and her parents were pressured into obtaining Russian IDs, but the family refused. The pressure intensified when Russian soldiers came to their home to "get acquainted".
After careful preparation, however, Mariia and her grandmother left the temporarily occupied territory. She is now in Chernivtsi and will begin her first year of college this September.
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