Thousands of children were kidnapped and deported to Russia shortly after Moscow invaded Ukraine last year. Some are returning home to Ukraine, where they are given counselling and therapy sessions to deal with their harrowing war experiences. FRANCE 24 met a group of repatriated children who have been reunited with their Ukrainian guardians and relatives.
At an art workshop in Ukraine, a group of children are busy drawing with their crayons. Tatiana and her grandson are participating in an art therapy workshop run by an NGO.
The Ukrainian grandmother was reunited with her grandson five months after he was taken away to Russia. She travelled all the way to Moscow to rescue him. “They have caused us so many tears and so much pain,” says the elderly Ukrainian woman as tears stream down her face.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating allegations of Russian officials deporting and illegally enabling the adoption of Ukrainian children.
Ukrainian officials and NGOs have documented several cases of the deportation of Ukrainian children. For the fortunate children who have made it back to their home country, it’s a slow recovery process from the trauma they have endured – as Tatiana attests as she watches her grandson hard at work on his painting.
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