Two more children from the occupation reunited with their families in free Ukraine

We welcome home 6-year-old Maksym and 12-year-old Mykyta.

At the time of the full-scale invasion, both boys were staying with their grandparents – Maksym in Zaporizhzhia region, Mykyta in Luhansk region. Both villages quickly came under occupation.

Maksym’s father is defending Ukraine in the Armed Forces, so it was dangerous to go after his son.

Mykyta’s grandmother tried to take her grandson out on her own, but this attempt failed, and the occupiers did not let them out.

Specialists of the Ukrainian Child Rights Network together with the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine helped to prepare all the necessary documents and developed and implemented a return route.

Today, both boys will hug their parents for the first time in 2.5 years.
They will start a new life in a free Ukraine.

“The Way Home” is a project aimed at finding and returning children displaced to Russia or to the non-government controlled areas of Ukraine, as well as reuniting families whose children are without parents during the occupation. The project is implemented by the Ukrainian Child Rights Network in partnership with Save the Children in Ukraine. Our other partners are: Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, EDUKIDS Charitable Foundation, Media Initiative for Human Rights.

The materials developed within the project do not necessarily reflect the official position of Save the Children