“Everyone who was 17 was taken to the military enlistment office. I was handed a draft notice and told to show up on September 5 — with my belongings…”

Anatolii was only 17 when he was stolen straight from school. A week before his 18th birthday, he was already holding a conscription notice from the Russian army. The only “choice” he had was which branch of the military to join.

Tolia is an orphan. His mother died when he was eight. After the full-scale invasion began, his brother fled, but Tolia stayed in a small town in southern Ukraine. All around him — a hostile environment soaked with propaganda and fear. Teenagers were lured into Russian “patriotic clubs,” and at any moment, armed occupiers could storm into your home and drag you off “to the basement.”

The boy was also targeted — especially after he and his brother found two boxes of ammunition in the forest, which had belonged to the occupiers, and threw them away. FSB agents later interrogated him, beat him, tried to force him to “hand over the weapons” (which the brothers never had), and demanded the names of Ukrainian soldiers.

One day, Tolia was stolen directly from the principal’s office during school hours. His phone was confiscated, he was tied up, had a bag thrown over his head, and was taken away for torture.

“They broke my rib and shoulder joint, smashed my face, gave me lots of bruises… They said: ‘If we find anything on your phone — you won’t live.'” On top of that, they tried to force him to take Russian documents.

At school, he was taught how to shoot, set up tripwires, handle mines and weapons. They offered trips to “training camps” — from which not everyone came back. But the boy refused: “Why would I need anything Russian? I don’t want it!”

Fortunately, the child protection service reached out to Save Ukraine to help rescue him. And Anatolii managed to escape occupation. He’s now safe. He wants to find a job — and take a photo with Ukrainian soldiers.

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We keep fighting — for every child!