Inside the ‘underground railroad’ Ukraine is using to bring back children from Russia
Inside the ‘underground railroad’ Ukraine is using to bring back children from Russia
Ukraine’s fight to reclaim its children from Russian-occupied regions has taken on a covert, almost clandestine dimension. Rostyslav Lavrov, a 19-year-old now living in Kyiv, is one of over 2,000 teenagers and young people who have managed to return to their homeland after being deported, transferred illegally, or left stranded in Russia, Belarus, or territories controlled by Moscow. His journey began in October 2023, when he left the Russian naval academy in Crimea, where he had been sent at 16 following the occupation of his hometown in the Kherson region. The school had even issued him a new Russian birth certificate, attempting to erase his Ukrainian identity. Lavrov refused to accept this transformation, embarking on a secret mission to flee back to his country.
Escaping the academy required meticulous planning. Lavrov contacted volunteers from Save Ukraine, an organization dedicated to rescuing children trapped in Russian-occupied areas. The group arranged his exit, leveraging a deceptive routine to avoid suspicion. On a day when classes were held elsewhere, he donned his uniform and acted as if heading to study, while volunteers waited nearby to whisk him away. “I didn’t take anything with me to avoid drawing attention,” he told CNN. “I was nervous at checkpoints, but I tried to stay calm.” Though he estimated the journey took two days, he later learned the Russian authorities had marked him as “missing and wanted.”
“I chose a day when I had (classes) in another building. I got up in the morning, put on my uniform and did everything as normal so they would think I was going to study,” he said, adding that Save Ukraine volunteers were waiting to pick him up at a nearby location.
Mykola Kuleba, founder of Save Ukraine and former children’s ombudsman, described Lavrov’s escape as representative of a larger effort. “It’s like a special operation for every child,” he said, urging CNN to keep details confidential to protect volunteers. Kuleba emphasized that the group operates independently, avoiding collaboration with Russian officials who could jeopardize their missions. “Once Moscow knows Ukraine wants a particular child, it will do anything to stop them from coming home,” he warned.
Yulia Dvornychenko’s experience highlights the challenges faced by families. In 2021, she was arrested in Torez, a town in eastern Ukraine seized by pro-Russia separatists since 2014. Accused of being a spy, she was separated from her sons, Danylo (17) and Mark (9), and pressured to confess to false charges. Her partner was also detained, and she was told her children would be sent to a Russian orphanage unless she signed the confession. Dvornychenko complied, but months later, after a prisoner-of-war exchange, she found herself racing against time to reunite with them.
“Russian authorities first said Mark would be returned in a POW exchange. I tried to reassure him, telling him it meant he was coming home,” she recalled. “I knew what happened during those (exchanges).”
Despite Ukraine’s efforts to mobilize global support, only a small fraction of the 2,000 children repatriated so far did so through official channels. Eighty-three were aided by Qatar, and nineteen by a program led by Melania Trump. Kuleba noted that most had to leave secretly, as obtaining permission from Russian authorities was nearly impossible. The nation, already grappling with a demographic “catastrophe,” continues to face the heartbreaking task of rescuing its children from the frontlines of war.
