Daria Herasymchuk, Advisor – Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights and Child Rehabilitation, took part in the presentation of the book Living the War: Children during the Russian war against Ukraine. It was published as part of the Bring Kids Back UA action plan aimed at returning Ukrainian children abducted by the aggressor state of Russia.
"This plan brings together government agencies and non-governmental organizations to ensure that every Ukrainian child can return to their homes. One of the blocks of the Bring Kids Back UA plan is to inform the international community about what the Ukrainian government is doing to save our children," emphasized Daria Herasymchuk.
Writer Volodymyr Kadygrob has collected eight stories of Ukrainian children about life during the war: the loss of loved ones, occupation, and deportation.
The Advisor – Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights and Child Rehabilitation noted that the Russian occupiers are committing deliberate genocide of Ukrainians, including children.
"The occupiers want to make sure that these children never return to the Ukrainian nation. President Zelenskyy's Peace Formula includes point number four, which contains the requirement to return not only all adult prisoners of war, but also children. That is why Ukraine, together with Canada, created the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children," added Daria Herasymchuk.
The presentation was also attended by the book's author Volodymyr Kadygrob, Deputy Prosecutor General Viktoriia Litvinova, representative of the Ombudsman for Children's Rights Iryna Suslova, and photographer Oleksandr Maslov, whose works are included in the book.
They discussed the key efforts of the Ukrainian state to return abducted and illegally deported children and reintegrate them in accordance with the Bring Kids Back UA action plan.