In October 2022, 10-year-old Mykyta from the Oleshky boarding school in the Kherson region was taken to Russia by the occupiers under the guise of “evacuation.” Along with other children from the facility, he was taken to Russia. No one asked his family. No one gave any warnings. They simply took him and drove him away. He was then relocated across Russia five more times, so that his relatives would lose track of him and never find the child. The boy’s grandmother, Ms. Polina, Mykyta’s legal guardian, did not even know whether her grandson was alive. The elderly woman personally visited every boarding school in the Krasnodar region, hoping to find him. 

In desperation, Polina found the contacts of Save Ukraine and reached out to our team. Together we established where the boy was being held. But bringing him back proved to be far from simple. 

The Russians obstructed every step of the way. Polina was interrogated, forced to undergo a DNA test, and made to wait a long time for the results. And when the test confirmed the obvious — the boy was still not returned. Because in the meantime, the director of the boarding school had illegally issued Mykyta Russian citizenship. Without grandmother’s knowledge. Without any legal basis whatsoever. For the Russians, Mykyta was not a child — he was an object that could simply be claimed. 

The Save Ukraine team helped Polina navigate all of this — and fight until her grandson was returned to her. Mykyta and his grandmother have now left for Ukraine and are safe.