Harrowing Stories of Ukrainian Children who Survived Russian Kidnapping

Om March 7 the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation’s  Museum of Civilian Voices released a series of stories from children kidnapped by the Russians. It contains the world’s largest collection of stories from civilians who suffered from Russia’s war against Ukraine

Natalya Yemchenko, the member of the Supervisory Board of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation said, “Can you imagine what it is like to be a child forcibly taken from your home, sent to a foreign country and made to live with strangers? What is it like for their families? And if the children do come home, how can they ever trust anyone enough to relax?

“No one should have to face this ordeal, yet thousands of Ukrainian children have been kidnapped by Russian war criminals. It takes a particular level of evil to target children.”

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes involving accusations that Russia has forcibly taken Ukrainian children.

Natalya Yemchenko continued, “The return of these children to Ukraine is the result of “The good news is that some children have returned home and have, bravely, told their stories of courage and endurance, of pain and loss. They are not easy to watch but they are important testimonies of Russian atrocities.”

The stories are available in a unique, harrowing collection on the Museum of Civilian Voices website.

Yemchenko concluded, “The return of these children to Ukraine is the result of tremendous work by the state, caring professionals and volunteers. Once home, each of these children is in dire need of support and qualified rehabilitation.

“The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, working the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, has provided priority psychological and physical rehabilitation at the Blogger Camp in a sanatorium in the Zakarpattia region, as part of the Foundation's ‘Rinat Akhmetov for Peaceful Recreation for Children of Ukraine’ project. And we will continue to do everything we can to help these children and their families,” Yemchenko elaborated.