16-year-old Arthur and his 9-year-old sister Camila will never forget the night Russian special forces stormed into their home. The children and their parents were forced to the floor, and then, in front of the whole family, soldiers dragged their father to the basement. A few days later, his belongings were returned to their mother—covered in blood and burned by electric shocks. Since then, the children have only seen a staged video on Russian TV, where their father was labeled a “terrorist” and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Occupiers kept watching the family, raided their home, and their mother had to hide the children in a secret room.

Little Anzhelika spent a month not knowing if her mother was alive. Russian forces abducted the woman near her home, tortured her with electricity, and kept her in isolation. Weeks later, she was released, but by then her name had already been added to the occupiers’ “blacklist.” Despite constant fear and shelling, the family stayed under occupation. Eventually, when life became unbearable, acquaintances reached out to Save Ukraine—and the family was rescued.

Among those saved is 17-year-old Matviy, who miraculously managed to hide from the occupiers the fact that he never attended a Russian school. He was repeatedly interrogated at checkpoints about why he didn’t have a Russian passport and wasn’t registered for military service. Twelve-year-old Ruslan also continued studying at a Ukrainian online school throughout the occupation, but his mother couldn’t get medical help without Russian documents—so she decided to escape.

👉 Today, all these children and their families are safe, thanks to the efforts of our Save Ukraine team and the support of our partners within the Bring Kids Back UA initiative. Now they are undergoing rehabilitation in our Hope and Healing centers, receiving psychological support, restoring documents, and learning how to live a normal life again.

We sincerely thank our partners WeAreAllUkrainians, the Humanity Charitable Foundation, and the Joint Center for the Coordination of the Search and Release of Prisoners of War and Illegally Detained Persons. Together, we are not only saving children but also giving them back their childhood, peace, and hope.

Support our mission to return stolen Ukrainian children 🙏

*The children’s names have been changed for safety reasons