Serhii and Ksenia Koldina are orphans who were separated due to the war.

Until February 2022, the brother and sister were raised in a foster family in Vovchansk, Kharkiv Region. From the first days of the full-scale invasion, the village was occupied, and the children were heavily influenced by Russian propaganda. Therefore, in the summer of 2022, graduate Ksenia enrolled in a technical school in Shebekino, Russia. And 11-year-old Serhii was sent by his adoptive mother on a “rest” to the Medvezhonok children’s camp in the Krasnodar Territory.

After the de-occupation of Vovchansk, Serhii ended up behind the front line, and his adoptive mother could not take him from the Russian Federation. Therefore, very soon the boy was taken in by a Russian foster family.

However, Serhii quickly found a way to keep in touch with his sister. They couldn’t see each other for a while, but they knew they always had each other and would soon be together in Ukraine. However, Serhii’s new adoptive parents didn’t like such conversations, and they began to put mental pressure on the 11-year-old child, assuring him that nobody and nothing good is waiting for him in Ukraine.

The manipulations of the adoptive parents affected Serhii so much that he almost stopped communicating with his sister and nearly lost faith in the chance of returning home. However, Ksenia realized something was wrong and decided to save her brother.

Already in Russia, the girl had to stay for several days to convince Serhiy to return to Ukraine. She told her brother that in the Motherland there are people who will take care of them. The older sister’s love and perseverance overcame the manipulations of the Russian adoptive parents, and Ksenia managed to take Serhii to Ukraine. Here they are finally safe, and the main thing they are together.

Unfortunately, Serhii and Ksenia Koldina are not the only children who were psychologically pressured by the Russians and refused to return kids to Ukraine. Therefore, we call upon the entire world public not to stand aside and support us in countering insidious Russian propaganda and protecting the rights of Ukrainian children. Let’s work together to ensure that every child has the right to freedom, safety, and family comfort.