Until February 24, 2022, her life was filled with laughter and dreams. She lived in Mariupol with her father, went to school, and spent carefree days with her friends. But war shattered everything. Watch a story about a child who has faced horrors no one should ever endure.
Kira, 11 years old, Mariupol
Kira was just 11 years old when Russia’s full-scale invasion began.
But when the time came to collect his 9th-grade diploma, he had no choice but to travel to his school in the nearby city of Kupiansk. He couldn’t have imagined that this seemingly routine trip would tear him away from his family for over six months. What followed was a harrowing journey of forced transfer, inhumane living conditions, and relentless psychological pressure by the Russians — a test of resilience no child should ever have to endure.
Artem, 16 years old, Kharkiv region
At 16 years old, Artem’s life was upended by the full-scale war. Living with his parents in a small village in Kharkiv, he studied online due to the constant shellings.
Throughout this time, Illia stayed in contact with Sviatoslav, reassuring him that he would be ready to welcome him home whenever possible. Illia tried to provide emotional support, fearing that his younger brother might face bullying at school for being Ukrainian. Unfortunately, this fear proved true, as Sviatoslav recalls his first week of school in the Voronezh region as a living nightmare.Sviatoslav endured several months of constant shelling, remaining there until explosions began hitting neighboring houses. Against his will he was then taken to Russia, issued a Russian passport, and enrolled in school there.
Slava & Illiia. Brothers separated by Russia
Two brothers, younger Sviatoslav and older Illia, were orphaned in 2011. When the full-scale invasion began, 24-year-old Illia joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine, while 14-year-old Sviatoslav had to stay with his guardian, their aunt, who refused to leave their hometown of Lysychansk.
The occupiers took him to a hospital in Donetsk, where he suffered even more physical and emotional pain. The operation to remove the fragment from his leg was performed without anesthesia. Adults mocked, saying that now the child should not say "Glory to Ukraine" but "Glory to Ukraine as part of russia" and forced him to write in russian. But, despite his young age, the boy bravely endured all these abuses. Thanks to a large team of governmental and non-governmental structures and organizations, in close cooperation with the boy's grandmother Olena, Illia managed to be returned from deportation. Currently, the boy is undergoing rehabilitation and dreams of becoming a doctor "to be the same as our boys on the front lines, combat medics and ordinary ones - they are real heroes."
Illia, 11 years old, Mariupol
Illia is a child who experienced a lot of pain in his short life. When his hometown of Mariupol was mercilessly shelled by the russians, his mother died from the debris, and the boy received many shrapnel wounds.
The project tells the real stories of children and their families affected by russia's war against Ukraine, contains comments from scientists, psychologists, lawyers and leading experts in the protection of children's rights. The project documents evidence of russian war crimes against Ukrainians. Use of the film by prior agreement with the authors.
“Abducted Childhood” Documentary
A scientific and psychological study of the Ukrainian independent media team online.ua of the situation of forced deportation and abduction of Ukrainian children by the russian federation.
In September-October 2022, Vitaliy, Zhenia, Taya, Dayana and the other two girls, who asked not to be named, came for the so-called rehabilitation. They say they were mocked in the camp and humiliated based on their nationality. The Russians locked children who expressed a pro-Ukrainian position in a basement or an isolation cell. They forbid children to speak Ukrainian, and instead, forced them to listen to the Russian national anthem, learn Russian patriotic songs, and work. For at least six months, they lied to children that their parents had allegedly abandoned them and, in general, that Ukraine no longer needed them. The number of abducted children remaining on the occupied peninsula is currently unknown.
Re-education of Children in Camps (Occupied Crimea)
The Russians took the children out of Kherson under the guise of rehabilitation. They forced parents to send their children to the camp, promising a trip for only 2 weeks. Dozens of buses headed to the occupied Crimea. According to the witnesses, there were thousands of children in just three camps: "Mriya," "Druzhba" and "Promenystyi ."
Sashko was sent to the hospital with an eye injury. Later, they said, they would place him in an orphanage until a russian foster family adopted him. However, thanks to the boy's courage, his grandmother Lyudmyla's efforts, and the coordinated work of a large team of governmental and non-governmental organizations and services, he was returned to territory controlled by Ukraine.
Oleksandr, 12 years old, Mariupol
The russians captured 12-year-old Oleksandr (known as Sashko) and his mother, Snizhana, in Mariupol in March 2022. They separated them in a filtration camp, not allowing them to say goodbye to each other.
