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Ukrainian teenagers escape Russian “reeducation camps” and forced military conscription
A group of Ukrainian children has been evacuated from Russian-occupied territories and brought to safety in government-controlled Ukraine, according to organizations Bring Kids Back UA and Save Ukraine.
The children endured systematic persecution for maintaining their Ukrainian identity while living under occupation.
“15-year-old Maria courageously defended her Ukrainian identity – she wore vyshyvanka to Russian school, argued with teachers about Ukraine. For this, classmates called her ‘ukropka,’ bullied and beat her, and teachers wrote denunciations and threatened her mother with deprivation of parental rights,” Bring Kids Back UA reported.
Four-year-old Milana and eight-year-old Sashko lived in occupied territories with their mother and grandmother. The women faced constant threats that children would be taken away if they refused to attend Russian schools. Authorities forced the children’s mother to obtain Russian documents while subjecting the grandmother to polygraph interrogation. Milana, who has a disability requiring medication, suffered as her family struggled to find necessary medicines under occupation.
Another evacuated teenager faced interrogation for online activity. “15-year-old Lina was interrogated for 6 hours straight for a pro-Ukrainian comment on social media, had her phone confiscated and was threatened with arrest by local ‘police.’ After that, the girl was afraid that she was being watched and that one day she would be forcibly sent to a so-called Russian ‘reeducation camp,'” the rescue organization wrote.
Seventeen-year-old Semen fled occupation to avoid conscription into Russian forces. He decided not to wait until adulthood after witnessing classmates forced into Russian military service despite their young age. Military commissariat representatives had already visited Semen’s home, threatening fines and physical violence for failing to appear when summoned.
The evacuation represents part of ongoing efforts to return Ukrainian children from occupied territories, where previous groups have been rescued despite facing pressure while studying online in Ukrainian schools.
Approximately 1.6 million Ukrainian children live under Russian occupation as of 2024, with many subjected to education under Russian standards and indoctrination programs. Russia continues to forcibly deport and militarize children from occupied territories, including sending tens of thousands to summer camps and preparing them for future service in the Russian military, which violates international law.
