Children from Kharkiv go to the Russian summer camp - and never come back
Created: 09/22/2022, 15:04
By: Michelle Brey
The Ukrainian city of Izyum was destroyed after being occupied by Russian forces.
© dpa
Shortly before the liberation of Izyum in the Ukraine war, parents sent their children to a summer camp in Russia.
A return seems open.
Kharkiv/Munich - Escape the Ukraine war, distance yourself from the terrible pictures and experiences: Parents in the city of Izyum in the Kharkiv region wanted to make it possible for their children.
They sent her to a holiday camp on the Black Sea in Russia.
Now they fear for their return, as reported by the
Washington Post
.
War in Ukraine: Children from Kharkiv go to holiday camp in Russia - return open
A total of 200 children from the Kharkiv region were affected.
80 of them are from Izyum, as Deputy Mayor Volodymyr Matsokyn told the US newspaper.
The parents sent their children to the Russian town of Gelendzhik on August 27 - a holiday resort on the Black Sea.
Russian propaganda news agencies advertised the summer camp.
The children should have returned home by the week of September 12-18, parents told The
Washington Post.
But they didn't.
The concern for the children is great.
"I have only one thing on my mind: get my child back," said one mother.
The newspaper quotes the newspaper as saying that she had not spoken to her twelve-year-old son for ten days.
According to the parents, direct contact options are rare.
Telephone and internet connections are down in the city.
At the same time, the parents fear being seen by Ukrainians as “collaborators” with Russia.
Eventually they sent their children across the Russian border.
However, the decision was not a political one, it only reflects the desire to be able to give a feeling of a normal childhood.
The Ukraine War in Pictures - Destruction, Resistance and Hope
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During holiday camp in Russia: Ukraine recaptures Izyum
The case is explosive because the Ukrainian counter-offensive achieved enormous success days after the children's departure - including in Kharkiv.
Russian troops fled their positions, the Ukrainian army said, including in the city of Izyum.
On September 11, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine recaptured the strategically important city from Russian troops.
Residents of Izyum then reported on the Russian occupiers, mass graves were found.
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According to the newspaper's report, the parents now worry that their children could be mistreated in Russia because of their nationality.
As can be seen from short conversations with the children, however, they should be fine.
Every now and then a short exchange succeeds – for example via video call, as another mother said.
Her son assured her that no one would bother the children.
The kids would have a good time there, but they still wanted to go home.
In another call, however, her son said: "I shouldn't have left." When the children will return is initially unclear.
"Cost what it may": Mayor fights for return of children to Ukraine
Authorities told The
Washington Post
they have a list of the names of the children who are in the camp.
"We are currently working with government agencies on this issue," Matsokyn said.
"We will definitely bring the children back, whatever the cost," he continued.
However, the distance from Kharkiv to Gelendzhik in Russia is considerable at several hundred kilometers.
(mbr)
