From: EuroNews By Giorgia Orlandi & Sasha Vakulina — For the first time since Russia’s all-out war, a delegation of Ukrainian children formerly abducted by Russian forces met the press in Rome on Wednesday. A senior official from Zelenskyy’s office said Ukraine wants to formalise the Vatican’s role as mediator to help secure the release of civilians.
In a packed room at the Ukrainian Embassy in Rome, a group of children aged 14 to 18, together with their grandparents and other relatives, stood before journalists and media crews.
Some had been living in Russian-controlled areas or occupied parts of the Donetsk region, while others were taken captive by Moscow’s forces elsewhere.
Thanks to Bring Kids Back Ukraine, the programme created by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to coordinate efforts to return abducted children, which organised the event, they have been safely repatriated to Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Their testimonies expose one of the darkest aspects of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine.
Russian propaganda and indoctrination, along with detention, deportation and in some cases torture, were among the experiences they endured while in captivity.
Voice of Ukraine 