Five children in Mykolaiv region have been granted the status of war victims following their unlawful removal

Five children in the Mykolaiv region have been granted the status of war victims. Photo: E. Blazhevich / LRT

In the Mykolaiv region, five children have been granted the status of war victims due to their unlawful removal from Ukraine. These are children who were returned as far back as 2024.

This was announced during a briefing by Iryna Ponomariova, head of the Children’s Services Department of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, according to NikVesti.

As is known, as of 1 April 2025, 35,127 children in the Mykolaiv region had been granted the status of a child affected by military operations and armed conflicts.

«In 2025, five children who had been abducted or illegally taken out of Ukraine were granted this status; they had been returned as early as 2024. In addition, in 2025, eight children were returned following occupation and forced removal from care. Some of them have since reached the age of majority and returned to the Mykolaiv region. Furthermore, 98 children were granted this status because their parents or one of their legal guardians had gone missing under special circumstances or had died as a result of military operations and armed conflicts, injuries, concussions or disabilities,» said Iryna Ponomariova.

As a reminder, in 2025, 30 children were returned to the Mykolaiv region following deportation. Three children have already been returned to the region this year. According to Iryna Ponomariova, a total of 45 children have arrived in the region since 2022 to reside there following deportation.