Recently, 12 Ukrainian children were successfully brought back home through the Bring Kids Back UA initiative.

This was announced by Darija Zarivna, an advisor to the President of Ukraine, who shared alarming stories of boys rescued from occupation.

Among those returned is a boy from a large family.

The occupation authorities threatened to send children to an orphanage if they refused to attend a Russian propaganda school.

The boy was forcibly registered as a conscript, and at school, he faced humiliation for speaking Ukrainian, while his older brother was tortured.

Another 10-year-old boy was nearly taken from his grandmother by Russian soldiers as he attempted to escape.

Armed soldiers separated them and took the boy away in an unknown direction.

Thanks to the help of partners, the evacuation of the grandmother and grandson was successful.

Latest updates on the return of Ukrainian children from occupied territories

Earlier, Darija Zarivna, the director of Bring Kids Back UA, noted that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has taken 744,000 Ukrainian children to its territory.

“According to human rights organizations, around 1.6 million children remain in temporarily occupied territories. Russia claims to have taken at least 744,000 Ukrainian children, mostly with their parents,” Zarivna stated.

However, Kyiv cannot confirm or deny this information, as Russia does not provide relevant data to Ukraine and international organizations.

Ukraine is actively working to return illegally deported children.

On April 9, six Ukrainian children were returned from occupation.

Two children returned home on April 2, and five more on March 29.

Additionally, at the beginning of March, seven children were successfully evacuated to territory controlled by Kyiv.

The President's Office reported that Russia holds control over up to 1.6 million minors, including those who have been deported or live in occupied territories.