16-year-old Artem from the village of Husynka in the Kharkiv region went to school in Kupiansk to collect his certificate… and disappeared for almost half a year. As it later turned out, he had been kidnapped by Russian soldiers who were retreating from the city. 

“I came to school and then wanted to go back, but the city was closed off, and the buses were no longer running. I had to sleep right there in school. There were another 15 of my classmates with me. Russian military vehicles were firing near the school all night long, there was a terrible roar, shells were landing not far from us, it was impossible to sleep…” — Artem recalls. 

In the morning, thirteen teenagers were “evacuated” by Russian soldiers to a boarding school in Perevalsk. There, the children were forced to unload trucks, clean the grounds, and sing the Russian national anthem. The collaborator caregivers threatened: if you don’t comply — we will send you to a foster family or a psychiatric hospital. 

Artem sometimes cried in despair. But he believed that his mother would find him and bring him home. He often dreamed of his home village. He had no intention of complying. 

“At one point I tore up the sheet with the Russian anthem because I didn’t want to learn it. Then, when they threatened to send me to a psychiatric hospital, I took their laptop and smashed it,” Artem admits. 

Artem’s mother searched for her son for a long time, reaching out to everyone who could help. Eventually she found the contacts of Save Ukraine volunteers, and we were able to bring Artem back home.