For three weeks now, 19-year-old Maksym has been sleeping peacefully, without the fear of his door being smashed in with a sledgehammer. His father, a soldier, was tortured with electricity by the occupiers, while Maksym himself was forced to dig a hole in the garden at gunpoint. Now, the young man is safe. He is working with psychologists at our Hope and Healing Center, gradually regaining a sense of control over his own life.

14-year-old Orest was left an orphan. When he finally found his father, he turned out to be a collaborator who misappropriated the boy’s payments and filed reports against him. The boy fled just two days before forced mobilization. Today, he is processing his documents and planning his studies — dreaming and planning for his future for the first time in a long while.

Vladyslav lived under constant night raids by drunken occupiers. They would burst into homes with grenades, searching for houses where young girls lived. His sisters were afraid to go outside for months. Now, the entire family is undergoing psychological rehabilitation and restoring their sense of safety at our center.

These and five other children and teenagers we rescued from occupation last week have already been given a chance at a safe life and a happy future. All those rescued are safe in our centers, receiving psychological help, legal assistance, support with documents, and secure housing.

But thousands of children still remain in danger. Russia is tightening its control, introducing new restrictive laws, and making return routes increasingly difficult and risky. Despite this, we continue to work systematically and persistently to save as many Ukrainian children as possible.

We sincerely thank Wladimir Klitschko, Tatjana Kiel from We Are All Ukrainians, Helping to Leave, the Humanity Funds, the Unified Center for the Coordination of Search and Release, and the Security Service of Ukraine, who made these returns possible. It is your organizational, logistical, and financial support that makes these complex operations a reality.

Special thanks to the Coordination Center for the Development of Family Upbringing and Child Care and the member countries of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative for their joint work on the rehabilitation and reintegration of children after their return.

Thanks to Save Ukraine, over 1,000 children have already been returned home.

We will not stop until every child is safe.