Last week, the Save Ukraine team rescued seven Ukrainian children and teenagers from occupation. This was made possible thanks to the support of Wladimir Klitschko, Tatjana Kiel from We Are All Ukrainians, and the Joint Center for the Coordination of Search and Release.

These children endured years of intimidation and attempts to erase their national identity. Today, they are finally safe.

Among those rescued:

8-year-old Vsevolod and five-year-old Yaroslav, who nearly drowned when their home was flooded after the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. The water level inside the house rose to nearly two meters, leaving the entire family without electricity, food, or medicine. Throughout this time, their mother hid her sons from the occupying forces, barely allowing them to leave the house to prevent the children from being forced to attend a Russian school or being taken away from their family.

17-year-old Marta and nine-year-old Matvii, whose home was raided twice by occupation forces. During one of the raids, the children were forced to raise their hands. Marta was violently taken into a separate room for interrogation, while her mother was interrogated in the next room. The woman was injured, had a bag placed over her head, and was taken away in handcuffs to an unknown location. The children were left without their mother for five months.

20-year-old Dmytro, who was taken twice to a military commandant’s office after being stopped at a checkpoint. The first time, he and a friend were held there for an entire day. His friend was beaten with batons for refusing to follow the occupiers’ orders. A criminal case was opened against Dmytro under occupation to make it easier to pressure him into joining the Russian army. When he later received a draft notice with a reporting date at a military enlistment office, he made the final decision to flee the occupied territory.

Today, all those rescued are staying at our Hope and Healing Centers, where they receive psychological support, assistance with documents, safe housing, and care — everything they need to recover from the horrors of war and learn how to dream again.

Thanks to Save Ukraine, more than 1,000 children have already been brought home. But thousands more are still waiting to be rescued.