Seven Ukrainian children who had been taken to Russia or occupied territories were brought back home on the eve of St Nicholas Day.

Source: Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets

Details: Lubinets stated that the children aged between 8 and 16 have reunited with their families, and one of them will soon celebrate his 17th birthday at home.

The commissioner said that a teenager from Kherson Oblast was supposed to stay with his grandmother "for a few weeks", but ended up spending years in the temporarily occupied territory.

"The occupation 'services' were already preparing documents to send him to an orphanage, but thanks to our efforts, we managed to bring him back to his mother," Lubinets added.

Two twin brothers were reunited in Ukraine with their aunt. Their mother died in Russia, where the children had been forced to stay because of the war. After her death, the boys were placed in a Russian orphanage.

Another boy returned home after travelling to Europe with his father, but ended up in Russia with relatives. A girl from Kharkiv Oblast was also brought back: she has survived an injury, the loss of her father and the threat of being "adopted" by a Russian family.

Lubinets also thanked Melania Trump for assistance.

Quote: "This achievement was made possible through the active efforts of the team from the Parliamentary Human Rights Commissioner's Office, as part of Bring Kids Back UA, an initiative led by the Ukrainian president. I also want to thank Melania Trump, First Lady of the United States, for her humanitarian support of Ukraine's initiatives on bringing back children and I hope for further mediation efforts, which have already proved effective."

Details: Lubinets noted that the process of bringing children back is always "complex, multi-stage and often unpredictable".

"We spent a lot of time and effort to bring these seven children home. The team from the Parliamentary Human Rights Commissioner's Office worked on every detail daily, looked for funding opportunities, organised logistics, provided legal assistance and monitored each step round the clock," he added.

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