Since the start of the war, the Russians have abducted hundreds of Ukrainian children under a variety of pretexts. Only a small percentage have already made it back, and many are still missing. Lucky was Veronika from Nechvolodivka.
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| The plight of Ukrainian mothers to save theirs kids |
Numerous personal tales about the Russian invasion of Ukraine have been written, most of them are tragic and sad with few good endings. The tale of Ludmila Kozyrova and other mothers from the hamlet of Nekhvolodivka in northern Ukraine could be an exception.
They were compelled to go a great distance across Poland and Belarus to get their children from Russia. Fortunately, they also made it home with the kids in one piece.
Veronika, Ludmila's thirteen-year-old daughter, traveled when her country was occupied by the Russians, like many other young people in Ukraine. However, during it, Ukraine freed the Kharkiv region's eastern section, and the Russians refused to give it back.
According to Kozyrová, 49, who spoke to The Times, "the Russian officials told us in August that the children may travel to a holiday camp near the sea to rest." Since several of the local kids had already visited the camp and returned, we believed it would be secure.
The occupation represented challenging times for a family from an underdeveloped area. Those who had money and automobiles had already departed, but Kozyrova remarked, "We didn't have any money, and we had nowhere to go, so we stayed." "So when the summertime tours began, I reasoned that it could be a good time for my daughter to take a break. She also convinced me "Added she.
However, when the battle grew more intense, the mother was informed that the trip "was prolonged," and once the hamlet was freed in mid-September, Russian authorities informed her that if she wanted to see her daughter again, she would need to pick her up personally.
Despite having several concerns about her ability to return at all, Ludmila did not hesitate and set out for her daughter.
Long route around the line
The fact that some of the parents had never even traveled to Kharkiv, which is only 110 kilometers away, let alone overseas, made an already terrible scenario considerably worse for many of the parents. The Save Ukraine NGO did, however, finally assist several people.
13 other moms traveled to Russia with Kozyrová to bring their kids. They were compelled to go through Poland in the west before continuing on to Russia via Belarus. The parents were informed that the kids were being kept in Anapa, a Black Sea coastal city, which is some 550 miles distant. However, the bus trip took a grueling 11 days because of compelled diversions through neighboring states.
There was no other choice, Kozyrová told The Times, "but we were terribly terrified that they wouldn't let us back home." "However, I can't even begin to express the emotion I had when I saw my daughter in front of the camp gate. We just exchanged kisses, hugs, and sobs. It made me ecstatic that we were together again", she said.
Just before Christmas, a group of moms welcomed home a total of 21 kids. It marked the conclusion of a protracted ordeal for Veronika that had begun relatively joyfully but had grown more horrific. "The young leaders treated us with a lot of kindness. However, after two weeks I had had enough. I genuinely missed my parents and even my brother "Veronika stated.
Despite everything, Ludmila Kozyrová thinks the trip's planners had the kids' best interests in mind. The head of the Save Ukraine organization's legal division, Miroslava Charenková, disagrees with this assertion.
"The Russians are betting that many mothers simply won't be able to make it to pick up their children," Charchenkov told The Times. "In this case we had zero guarantees, it was a huge risk, but it was either take the risk or leave the children in Russia."
Kiev has identified 13,613 kids who were forcibly taken from Ukraine by Russia since the start of the conflict. Only 122 have come back thus far, and many more are still missing. Many of them, according to UN and Ukrainian officials, were forcibly adopted into Russian households. The procedure is referred to some critics as a planned depopulation effort.
Some youngsters, like Veronika, vanished while on vacation, while others were taken directly by the Russian army or had their departure planned by the occupiers. Minors were removed "for their own protection" from orphanages or boarding schools. As people fled the conflict in cities like Mariupol, many children were torn away from their families.
Source: Telegraph (UK), Seznam Zpravy (Czech Republic)