Thirteen children aged 1 to 17 have come home from temporarily occupied Kherson region under the Bring Kids Back UA initiative and the charity Save Ukraine.
Thirteen more children from the temporarily occupied part of Kherson region have crossed onto Ukrainian-controlled territory — the youngest is just one year and eight months old, the oldest 17. The news was announced by Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration. The operation was carried out with the help of the charity Save Ukraine as part of President Zelensky's Bring Kids Back UA initiative.
The group includes seven girls and six boys. According to Prokudin, every one of them went through pressure, intimidation and fear caused by Russian aggression. One 14-year-old boy was threatened with being separated from his family if he refused to attend a Russian school, where children were forced to study a distorted version of history and sing the Russian anthem every day. Children who openly showed a pro-Ukrainian stance were threatened.
All 13 children are now with the "Hope and Return" reintegration centers, where they receive psychological support, help restoring documents, and temporary shelter and care for a fresh start.
Since the start of 2026, 170 children have now been brought back from the temporarily occupied part of Kherson region. The Bring Kids Back UA initiative operates nationwide, relying on dozens of volunteers, lawyers and psychologists who accompany every child on the way home.
Volunteers Support Ukraine continues to help people affected by the war in whatever way its available resources allow — through humanitarian aid, support for families, and by spreading the word about initiatives that bring Ukrainians home from occupation.
