11 children from Russia, occupied territories returned to Ukraine
The Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets announced this on Facebook, Ukrinform reported.
"We managed to return 11 Ukrainian children home! These are six girls, including two two-year-old twin sisters, and five boys. The youngest returned child is two years old, and the oldest is 16 years old. Two of the children were picked up in an ambulance, as one child cannot move at all," he said.
According to Lubinets, the Ukrainians were returned from the TOT and Russia with the help of Qatar and with the support of UNICEF, as well as with the assistance of the State Border Guard Service.
The Ombudsman said that the Qatari Ambassador to Ukraine di Nasser Al-Hajri met the children together with the team.
"This return, like all the others, took place within the framework of the implementation of the approved action plan of the President of Ukraine Bring Kids Back UA. The Ombudsman's Office, together with other state authorities, worked out the return way and the entire process. The children's relatives turned to our institution to return the forcibly displaced and deported Ukrainians to their homeland," the Ombudsman informed.
According to him, unfortunately, the fate of the children is tragic - they were forced to survive the occupation of their hometowns, bombings and injuries, and the death of their relatives.
"Some of them were forcibly passported by the Russian Federation and even found 'guardians' for them. Now Ukrainians are at home. Our task is not only to take care of the logistics, security, and other aspects of the return, but also to ensure that children receive psychological and humanitarian assistance, involving our partners," he said.
Lubinets assured that the Ukrainian authorities will continue to work to bring home the Ukrainian children abducted by the Russians and facilitate family unification.
As reported, on February 11, the Kherson Regional Military Administration said that a child and his grandmother had been returned from the seized territory of the Kherson region.
