Ukraine is bringing children back from Russia via unofficial routes and special operations
Rostislav Lavrov found himself at a Russian naval academy in occupied Crimea after his home town in the Kherson region was seized. At the age of 16, attempts were made to integrate him into the Russian system, including issuing him with a Russian birth certificate. In October 2023, he left the academy and set off on a clandestine journey to Ukraine, according to CNN.
He is now 19 and lives in Kyiv. Lavrov has become one of around 2,000 Ukrainian children and teenagers who have returned from Russia, Belarus or the occupied territories. A significant proportion of these returns take place without official authorisation.
Fewer than a quarter of the children have returned through official channels. 83 children were repatriated with the assistance of Qatar, and a further 19 as part of an initiative involving US First Lady Melania Trump.
Volunteers from Save Ukraine helped organise Lavrov’s escape. He left the hostel without his belongings so as not to attract attention and reached territory controlled by Ukraine in about two days. It later emerged that the Russian authorities had put him on a wanted list.
Save Ukraine founder Mykola Kuleba notes that each child’s return is a separate operation. According to him, the organisation does not cooperate with the Russian side, as this could complicate the return process.
Yulia Dvornichenko was separated from her sons after her arrest in 2021 in Torez. She was accused of espionage and forced to sign a confession. A year and a half later, she was released during a prisoner exchange.
One of her sons remained in the occupied territory, whilst the other was in hiding in Moscow. Attempts to secure the return of her younger son through an exchange proved unsuccessful, after which the family was forced to organise his return independently. The reunion took place almost two years after their separation.
According to Kuleba, the organisation has set up a network to locate and return children. As of the end of February, it had helped return 1,162 children.
Human rights activist Daria Kasyanova notes that cooperation with international bodies is complicated by formal procedures. She emphasises that interviewing children before their return can be dangerous due to the trauma they have experienced.
Ukraine has identified around 20,000 children who were taken or illegally moved to Russia, Belarus or the occupied territories. Some of them were placed in camps or handed over to Russian families.
In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in connection with the deportation of Ukrainian children.
According to Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, over 1.6 million children are in the occupied territories and attending Russian schools.
Taras, a 19-year-old who fled an occupied village, says that children are forced to undergo military training and are subjected to propaganda. His family decided to leave after facing the risk of mobilisation.
With the help of volunteers, Taras managed to leave the occupied territory. After several days on the road, he reached the border, where he was met by representatives of Save Ukraine.
Volunteers continue to search for children, using various methods, including social media and open sources of information.
