Ukraine rescue team races to extract teenage boys from occupied territory

A Ukrainian rescue team is working against the clock to move a group of teenage boys out of Russian-controlled territory, with one extraction described as due to take place the following day. The operation is being coordinated from Kyiv by Kateryna Fedosenko, who works with the non-governmental organisation Save Ukraine. The boys are being taken across Ukraine toward the Belarusian border crossing as part of an effort to get them out of areas where they could face pressure to accept Russian control.

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Fedosenko said four boys were expected to be moved the next day, and one of them, 17-year-old Bogdan, had left his village near the frontline in the Russian-occupied Kherson region three days earlier with two foster parents and other teenagers. She said the Russian military could take boys away at any moment and that they lived in constant fear. The account places the rescue effort in the context of a wider pattern of children being removed from occupied areas or living under Russian control since the full-scale war began in February 2022.

The Ukrainian government says it has verified the identities of 20,651 children it believes have been taken by Russia, while also saying the true number is likely much higher. Save Ukraine says it has brought home more than 1,700 children from Russia and occupied territories so far. The organisation says its work has shifted over time, from cases of abduction in the early months of the war to more recent efforts to help children who are growing up under occupation and facing new risks.

The issue has become more urgent because, according to the account, about 1.6 million Ukrainian children are living under Russian control along the eastern flank of the country. The report says Russian authorities are carrying out indoctrination and military training on a mass scale in those areas. It also says autumn in Russian territory brings a conscription drive, increasing concern for boys approaching the age of 18.

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The rescue effort is taking place against the backdrop of Russia's occupation of parts of southern and eastern Ukraine, including Kherson region, where families have been split by the war and movement can be dangerous. The report says Moscow has installed its own people to run the cities and towns it occupies and makes life difficult for Ukrainians who refuse Russian citizenship or military training. That has created a wider humanitarian and legal dispute over the treatment of children in occupied territory and the status of those moved across borders.

Save Ukraine's role in the story reflects the scale of the challenge facing families and aid workers. The organisation is described as a key part of the rescue network, with Fedosenko acting as a central coordinator for cases that can change quickly and require encrypted communication. The journey itself, an eight-hour drive from Kyiv to the Belarusian border crossing, underlines how far children may need to be moved before they can be handed over to safety.

What remains unclear is how many children are still in occupied areas, how many may be at immediate risk of conscription or transfer, and how many rescue operations are under way at any given time. The report does not say whether the planned extraction of the four boys was completed, or what conditions they will face after leaving occupied territory. The broader issue is likely to remain a focus as Ukraine and aid groups continue to track children believed to be under Russian control.

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