Twenty-four Ukrainian children return to Kherson region from Russia. Their parents spent 13 hours being questioned before release.

Twenty-four children from the Kherson region have come back to Ukraine after an unlawful removal to Russia.

Olexandr Prokudin, the region’s governor, writes on Telegram that he met the children on their return to Kherson.

“This was one of the most difficult rescue missions,” Prokudin says. “The Russians interrogated the children’s parents for 13 hours straight. Afterwards, they forced them to take part in a propaganda segment. But the main thing is that the kids are at home with their parents.”

On April 8, the charity foundation Save Ukraine reported that 31 Ukrainian children had been returned from the Russian-controlled territories, as part of the fifth rescue mission conducted by the foundation.

According to Ukraine’s National Information Bureau data, more than 19,000 Ukrainian children had been forcibly removed from the country since the start of Russia’s invasion. Only 361 have since been returned.