Vitaliy never thought he would end up in a place like this. He was just a normal kid from Berislav, a small city in the Kherson region of Ukraine. He liked to play soccer with his friends, watch cartoons on TV, and dream of becoming a pilot someday. He had no idea that his life would change so drastically on October 7, 2022.

That was the day his school’s new “director” came to his class and announced that they were going on a trip to a camp in Crimea. The director said it would be fun. Vitaliy was skeptical, but he didn’t want to miss out on an adventure. He packed his bags and boarded the bus, along with dozens of other Ukrainian children.

He soon realized that the camp was nothing like he had imagined. It was a nightmare. From the moment they arrived, they were subjected to constant abuse and humiliation by the camp’s staff, who were all loyal to the Russian regime. They forced them to listen to the Russian anthem for hours, to wave Russian flags, to sing the praises of Putin and curse Ukraine. They took away their phones and their clothes. They fed them rotten food and denied them basic hygiene. They beat them with iron rods and burned their Ukrainian symbols. They brainwashed them with lies and propaganda. They told them they would never see their families again, that they would be sent to Russia and be adopted by Russian parents. They said, “You will be Russian children.”

Vitaliy tried to resist. He ran away with some other kids to buy food in the nearby town. He refused to eat the spoiled food they gave him. He made a mockery of Putin by placing a statue of him with a crown and a sign that said “Putin – the king” in his room. He kept his Ukrainian spirit alive, even when they hit him and called him names. He thought about his home, his parents, his dreams. He prayed for a miracle.

And then, one day, the miracle came. Vitaliy was returned to Ukraine as part of the 5th Save Ukraine mission. He is currently living with his family in one of our Hope and Healing centers, where they could recover and heal.