Ukraine has rescued 24 children from Kherson Oblast who had been abducted by Russian invaders, the regional military administration reported on April 10.
Volunteers from the Save Ukraine charity fund helped secure the children’s return. They were delivered to the city of Kherson.
According to the volunteers, it was “one of the most difficult rescue missions.” The Russians had interrogated the children for 13 hours, and later forced them to take part in a propaganda stunt.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk said that an international coalition is being formed to agitate for the return of Ukrainian orphans who had also been kidnapped by Russian forces.
Therefore, the Coordinating Council for the Protection and Safety of Children, chaired by presidential chief-of-staff Andriy Yermak, is working on the formation of a coalition aimed at rescuing these orphans and pursuing accountability for the kidnappers and enablers.
“The world community’s help is very important to us in this issue,” she said.
“A pool of international leaders who have expressed their public support for such a coalition is already being formed, including (President of the European Commission) Ursula von der Leyen, (Polish Prime Minister) Mateusz Morawiecki, and others. There should also be a mediator. It can be anyone: the International Committee of the Red Cross, UNHCR, UNICEF, etc.”
Vereshchuk added that she hopes that such a platform will start operating soon.
According to the deputy PM, Russia is harboring 4,396 kidnapped orphans in occupied Ukrainian territories and in Russian territory.
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