Five more children — three boys and two girls aged 10 to 17 — have been brought home from the temporarily occupied part of Kherson region. Two of the teenagers had spent years under direct pressure and threats from the occupiers.
Five more children — three boys and two girls aged 10 to 17 — have been returned from the temporarily occupied left bank of Kherson region to Ukrainian-controlled territory, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration. The return was carried out with the support of the presidential initiative "Bring Kids Back UA" and the charity "Save Ukraine." All five are now safe and undergoing reintegration at the "Hope and Recovery" centers, where they are receiving psychological support, help with documents, and everything else they need. Volunteers Support Ukraine is genuinely glad for every piece of news like this — it is exactly for stories like this one that the fight to bring every Ukrainian child home is worth continuing.
According to Oleksandr Prokudin, two teenagers in this group — boys aged 17 and 14 — endured years of pressure, threats, and propaganda from the Russian occupation authorities.
The 17-year-old was forced to attend an occupation-run school after his family was threatened: armed Russian soldiers regularly broke into their home, carried out searches, and checked the family's phones and other devices. The 14-year-old's family was threatened with having him placed in an orphanage if he did not start attending a Russian-curriculum school.
Children coming out of occupation often bring only the barest essentials with them — and small symbols of home that remind them they are safe now.
Volunteers Support Ukraine knows how difficult this road is — and how important the work of the teams who spend years systematically bringing each child home really is.
At the "Hope and Recovery" centers, children receive more than just a roof over their heads — they get professional psychological rehabilitation, essential after years of living under occupation and constant pressure.
Specialists at the center work with each child individually, helping them process traumatic experiences and gradually adjust to peaceful life.
Since the start of 2026, 190 children have already been returned from the temporarily occupied part of Kherson region — and every one of these stories means one more Ukrainian family reunited.
Volunteers Support Ukraine continues helping people affected by the war in whatever way its available resources allow. Stories like this one are a reminder that, despite all the horror of this war, coming home is possible — and it is worth fighting for.
