Inside the mission to rescue Ukrainian teens from Russian
The NGO Save Ukraine is actively working to rescue Ukrainian teenagers from Russian-occupied territories to prevent them from being forcibly drafted into the Russian military. The organization has successfully extracted over 1,700 children since the start of the conflict.
Why it matters
This highlights the humanitarian crisis and the specific risks faced by minors living in conflict zones under foreign occupation.
It's an eight-hour drive across Ukraine from Kyiv to the Belarusian border crossing. ( Foreign Correspondent: Alex Parsons )
Link copied Share Share article Kateryna Fedosenko barely looks up from her phone as she paces back and forth, frantically switching between encrypted text and voice notes.
From the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, she's coordinating an urgent rescue mission: getting a group of teenage boys out of Russian-controlled territory.
She glances up briefly. "It will be four boys tomorrow," she says.
Seventeen-year-old Bogdan left his village near the front line in the Russian-occupied Kherson region three days ago with the teens and two foster parents.
It's a race against time for Kateryna and her team of rescuers at NGO Save Ukraine to extract the boys, who could be drafted into Russia's war machine at any moment.
The Save Ukraine headquarters are in Kyiv. ( Foreign Correspondent: Kathryn Diss )
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