Two teenagers returned from temporarily occupied territories - Vereshchuk

Two teenagers have been returned from Ukraine's temporarily occupied territories to government-controlled areas.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk said this in a Telegram post, Ukrinform reports.

"Yesterday, we returned two teenagers from the temporarily occupied territories: Ivan Matkovskyi and Maksym Boiko. Both are students of the Mariupol Construction College. They are a little tired, but now they are safe," Vereshchuk wrote.

She thanked the boys' guardian, Anton Bilai, for persistence in their release. She also expressed gratitude to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the SOS Children's Villages charity foundation.

Russian President Putin declared war on Ukraine on February 24 and launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops are shelling and destroying critical infrastructure and shelling residential areas of Ukrainian cities, towns and villages using artillery, multiple rocket launchers and ballistic missiles.