Russian troops killed mother in front of her son: details about two Ukrainian children rescued from occupation

Ukraine has successfully brought back two children from territories temporarily occupied by Russia. The children are a girl, and an 11-year-old boy whose mother was killed by Russian troops. Source: Bring Kids Back UA, an initiative to recover deported children

Details: Eleven-year-old Oleksandr, whose mother was killed by Russian soldiers in front of him in the spring of 2022, was rescued from the occupied regions. The boy was left orphaned.

Oleksandr was taken into care by a female relative in order to prevent him from being placed in an orphanage. However, he was constantly at risk of deportation.

Eventually, the woman turned to the Ukrainian Child Rights Network for help with his evacuation. "After a long and difficult journey, Sasha [short for Oleksandr] is finally safe on the territory controlled by Ukraine. Now he is looking for a loving family that can ensure proper care and support," Bring Kids Back UA says.

In addition, a woman and her daughter, who found themselves in extremely difficult circumstances, were evacuated from the occupied territory.

"It took a lot of effort to get home, especially as the occupation authorities kept changing the rules for crossing the border. But the most important thing is that they are now safe and can begin building a new life," the initiative said. As of March 2025, a total of 1,247 children have been brought back to Ukraine from Russian-occupied territories.

Human rights activists estimate that at least 1.6 million children remain under Russian control. Background: Earlier, Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia (Life) shared the story of 16-year-old Vlad, who was abducted from Kherson by Russian troops and sent to a so-called "re-education camp".

The boy expressed his resistance in every possible way, including once removing the Russian flag from a flagpole and replacing it with his underwear.

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