Four girls and three boys aged 10 to 17 have been returned to Ukrainian-controlled territory from the temporarily occupied Kherson region — bringing this year's total to 124.
Seven Ukrainian children — four girls and three boys aged 10 to 17 — returned to Ukrainian-controlled territory on August 5 from the temporarily occupied part of the Kherson region. The news was announced by Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration. For Volunteers Support Ukraine, every story like this is a reminder that even on the war's hardest days, there are moments worth all the work that goes into reaching them.
The operation was carried out under the presidential "Bring Kids Back UA" initiative with support from the charity Save Ukraine. It's a complex, often multi-day process that requires coordination with relatives or guardians still living under occupation and typically routes through third countries. Volunteers Support Ukraine has deep respect for the people who have spent years doing this work systematically, case by case.
Immediately after their return, the children are taken to "Hope and Recovery" centers, where they receive psychological support, help restoring documents, safe housing, and the other care needed to start a new chapter. Many arrive with little more than a small bag — and something familiar from home that helps them feel steadier in unfamiliar surroundings.
Since the start of 2026, 124 children have now been returned from the temporarily occupied Kherson region alone. Prokudin stressed that hundreds of other Ukrainian children still face pressure from the occupying authorities every day — forced Russification, pressure to change citizenship, and attempts to erase their Ukrainian identity. Every family reunion like this one is the result of months, sometimes years, of work by diplomats, volunteers, and people who refused to look away.
That phrase has become an informal rallying cry for the movement to return abducted and deported Ukrainian children — you can find it painted on murals in cities across the country. Volunteers Support Ukraine keeps helping people affected by the war in whatever way its available resources allow, and believes every child brought home moves that phrase one step closer to becoming true for all of them.
