17 deported Ukrainian children return to their families

An intense joy between a father and his daughter. They had not seen each other for over 6 months. 17 Ukrainian children have been reunited with their families after being deported to Crimea, they are between 6 and 17 years old. “The teachers at the school told us that we were going to take a short trip to Crimea. At first, I wanted to go there, but we were deceived”, testified a repatriated boy. The parents had first agreed to let them go to protect them from the war. “They gave the impression that everything was fine for the children. But my son called me to tell me that it was not a camp but a concentration camp, with barbed wire”laments a mother.

16,200 children deported?

This repatriation was organized by the NGO Save Ukraine, which did not give details of the negotiations with the Russians. But details of the methods used to take children away from their parents in Ukraine: “The Russians use the element of surprise, telling them that they have one hour to decide, otherwise Ukrainians and American mercenaries will come to harm them. This is blackmail and manipulation”, explains Myroslava Khartcheko, lawyer for Save Ukraine. How many children have been deported since the start of the war? Ukraine has identified more than 16,200. Russia denies wanting to protect them from war.