An 18-year-old boy returned from the temporarily occupied Kherson region

An 18-year-old boy has been returned from the temporarily occupied Kherson region. Illustrative photo: Save Ukraine

On Wednesday, 23 April, an 18-year-old boy was returned to the government-controlled territory of Ukraine from the temporarily occupied part of Kherson region.

This was reported by the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin.

According to him, before the war, the boy entered college, but after the occupation of his hometown, he was left without parental care and lived under the threat of mobilisation into the Russian army.

«He was deprived of parental care. Shortly before the full-scale invasion, he entered college and dreamed of getting a profession. However, after the outbreak of the great war, his town was occupied, and he lived under the threat of being drafted into the Russian army every day. Several times he tried to leave on his own, but it didn't work out», said Alexander Prokudin.

He noted that the rescue operation was made possible thanks to the initiative of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy «Bring Kids Back UA» and the assistance of «Ukrainian Child Rights Network», which organised a safe route and escort.

As a reminder, three children who were in the temporarily occupied territory of Kherson region were returned to Ukraine.