5 children from the Mykolaiv region, who were taken to Russia 2 years ago, were returned to Ukraine

Ukraine managed to return five pupils of the Novopetrivske boarding school from the Mykolaiv region, who were stolen by Russian troops in July 2022.

Mykola Kuleba, the founder of Save Ukraine, said this on his Facebook page.

Children were abducted and transported during the occupation of Snihurivka district. Before that, the children survived 3 months on the front line, hiding from bombs and rockets in the basement.

«In mid-July 2022, they were kidnapped by the Russians at gunpoint and moved to the occupied territory. The children were kept in the Kherson Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation. Every day, the military came to them and checked whether anyone had suddenly escaped, forbade them to communicate with their relatives, and threatened them. In October 2022, the occupiers took them to Crimea, and then to Anapa, Krasnodar Territory, Mykola Kuleba said.

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From there, the children were rescued and taken to a safer territory, in Georgia. Now all the children are safe with their relatives, added Save Ukraine.

«They were not in Ukraine for almost two years. They were saved. We thank everyone who stands by us and continues to save children,» said Mykola Kuleba.

What about the children from the Novopetrivske boarding school?

As you know, during the occupation, 16 children were taken out of the Novopetrivske boarding school. All of them, as told in Mykolaiv RMA, later ended up in Georgia.

During the occupation of the village, the director of the institution Nataliia Lutsyk was able to take the children to Georgia.

In July 2023, «Slidstva.Info» journalists identified the kidnappers of orphans who were taken to the Russian Federation during the occupation of the Sniguriv district from the Novopetrivske boarding school.

The basement where the children were hiding, photo: Investigation.Info

The basement where the children were hiding, photo: Investigation.Info

The basement where the children were hiding, photo: Investigation.Info

In March 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine collected evidence on two more citizens who were involved in the deportation of Mykolaiv children to Russia.

Last year, one of the pupils was taken from Georgia to the USA by her American foster mother, Bethany White, who adopted 16-year-old Yulia. The process started back in 2020, but it was possible to complete all bureaucratic issues only on February 23, 2022. So, Yulia and 14 other children met the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the village of Novopetriske.

Now the girl is with her new family in the USA.