More than 30 children have been returned to their families in Ukraine from Russia and its occupied Crimea this weekend after a long operation.
According to the Reuters news agency, these Ukrainian children were transferred from areas occupied by the Russian army during the war.
After a complex operation on Friday, the children were brought to Ukraine via Belarus. There were emotional scenes as mothers embraced their sons and daughters.
Dasha Rak, a 13-year-old girl, said that because of the war last year, she and her twin sister had agreed to leave the Russian-administered Kherson region and go to a holiday camp in Crimea, but when they arrived in Crimea, the Russians Officials said they could stay here for a long time.
He said that we will be adopted and we will get guardians. When they first said that we will be kept for a long time, we started crying.
Dasha Rock’s mother Natalya said she traveled to Poland, Belarus and Moscow to get her daughter back.
The Crimea region of Ukraine has been occupied by Russia since 2014.
Describing the journey to Crimea, Natalya said that she traveled continuously and did not sleep during that time.
He said that it was heartbreaking to see the children left behind who were crying behind the fence.
According to Kyiv statistics, 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or its territory of Crimea.
Ukraine has condemned the illegal deportation of children.
Moscow, which has seized parts of eastern and southern Ukraine, has denied abducting the children and said they were moved for safety reasons.
Mykola Koliba, founder of Save Ukraine Humanitarian, a child repatriation organization, said that the fifth mission to bring back children safely is nearing completion.
He said during a briefing on Saturday that 31 children have been brought back to the country.
