---
title: "Ukraine brings back 12 children taken by Russia, Zelenskiy's chief of staff says"
description: "KYIV, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Ukraine brought home 12 children forcefully taken by Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said late on Monday."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-02-04-ukraine-brings-back-12-children-taken-by-russia-zelenskiys-chief-of-staff-says/"
published: "2025-02-04T04:38:35"
updated: "2025-02-04T04:38:37"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 287
---

# Ukraine brings back 12 children taken by Russia, Zelenskiy's chief of staff says

> KYIV, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Ukraine brought home 12 children forcefully taken by Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said late on Monday.

By Reuters · Published 4 February 2025, 06:38 SAST · Updated 4 February 2025, 06:38 SAST

## Key points
- In a heartwarming twist amidst the chaos, Ukraine's Bring Kids Back UA initiative successfully reunites 12 children with their families, proving that even in the darkest times, hope can find a way home—though Russia remains suspiciously silent, as always.
- Ukraine's Bring Kids Back UA initiative successfully returns 12 children from Russian occupation, including a 16-year-old girl and an eight-year-old.
- Over 19,500 children have reportedly been deported to Russia or occupied territories since the war began, with Ukraine labeling these actions as war crimes.
- Kyiv has managed to bring back 388 children so far, amidst ongoing exchanges between Russia and Ukraine.
- The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Russian officials over the abduction of Ukrainian children, which Russia has dismissed as unacceptable.

## Content

By Oleksandr Kozhukhar

"As part of the initiative of the President of Ukraine Bring Kids Back UA, it was possible to return home 12 children who were under the pressure of the Russian occupation," Yermak said on his Telegram messaging app.

The Bring Kids Back UA programme under Zelenskiy is an initiative to return home all children forcefully deported from Ukraine, according to the initiative's statement.

Among the returned children is a 16-year-old girl who lost her mother, a 17-year-old teenager who was issued a summons to the Russian army, and an eight-year-old girl, Yermak said.

There was no immediate comment from Russia. The office of Russia's Commissioner for Children's Rights did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment outside of business hours.

Moscow and Kyiv have carried out several exchanges of children to be reunited with their families since the start of the war that Russia launched with its [full-scale invasion](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N3ML0BV&linkedFromStory=true) on Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukraine says that more than 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians since the war began, calling the abductions a war crime that meets the U.N. treaty definition of genocide.

Russia has said it has been evacuating people voluntarily and to protect vulnerable children from the war zone.

Kyiv has been able so far to bring back 388 children, according to data published by Ukraine's Ministry of Reintegration.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued [warrants for the arrest](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AA5N34A01F&linkedFromStory=true) of Russia's commissioner for children Maria Lvova-Belova and President Vladimir Putin related to the abduction of Ukrainian children. Russia denounced the warrants as "outrageous and unacceptable".

(Reporting by Oleksandr Kozhukhar;Writing by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Michael Perry)