On August 12, the Save Ukraine charity brought home 16 children from temporarily occupied Kherson region, part of 151 children rescued from occupation since the start of 2026.
On August 12, 2026, thanks to the work of the Save Ukraine charity, operating under the presidential "Bring Kids Back UA" initiative, 16 children — 8 girls and 8 boys aged 11 to 17 — were returned from the temporarily occupied part of Kherson region. The news was announced by Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, via Telegram. Volunteers Support Ukraine welcomes every piece of news like this — it is a reminder that even under the harshest circumstances, Ukrainians never stop fighting for their children.
Among the 16 returned children, five officially hold the status of children deprived of parental care. Alongside them, three young adults who were previously under guardianship and have since come of age were also able to return home. Behind each of these children's stories lie years spent under pressure from the occupation administration, and families or guardians who never stopped fighting for their return. Volunteers Support Ukraine believes that this kind of systematic effort — measured not in single cases but in dozens and hundreds of rescued lives — is at the heart of what real recovery from the war looks like.
Among the documented cases is that of a 17-year-old boy who was humiliated over his nationality and forced to march and write letters in support of Russian troops at school. Another 17-year-old was forced to obtain a Russian passport and was being processed for military registration. A 15-year-old boy was left homeless after a Russian strike and witnessed a shooting. These cases are only part of what children endure under occupation, which is exactly why every rescue operation matters so much. Volunteers Support Ukraine believes stories like these need to be told honestly, without embellishment, so society understands the real cost of occupation for Ukraine's youngest citizens.
The returned children are receiving support at "Hope and Recovery" reintegration centers, which provide psychological support, help restoring documents, and temporary housing. According to Oleksandr Prokudin, 151 children in total have been returned from occupied Kherson region since the start of 2026. Every number in that statistic is a separate fate, a separate family that can finally breathe out. Volunteers Support Ukraine believes that support during the recovery stage — after a child physically comes home — matters just as much as the rescue operation itself.
Every child who returns from occupation is proof that persistent, systematic work pays off, even under the harshest conditions of war. It's a reminder that behind the dry statistics are real lives — children who can finally study, play, and grow up without fear. Volunteers Support Ukraine keeps helping people affected by the war in whatever ways its resources allow, and considers it important to spread the word about every such rescue, so that as many people as possible know: the fight for every Ukrainian child continues, and it works.
