About 2,000 Children Have Been Returned Over These Years, and Each Case Was a Separate Operation – Olena Zelenska in an Interview with The Dallas Morning News

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Over the past few years, Ukraine has managed to bring back about 2,000 children abducted by Russia. Each case has been a separate operation involving many people and international organizations. First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska stated this in an interview with The Dallas Morning News during her visit to the United States.

"We have no contact with the Russian side - they do not communicate with us on this issue. Instead, they are doing everything possible to conceal the children's whereabouts and prevent them from returning home," the President's wife said.

In particular, Olena Zelenska spoke about a boy from Mariupol who was taken by Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova.

"He spoke Ukrainian, he listened to Ukrainian songs, he protested. And then, as she put it, 'he began to behave normally.' In other words, they broke the child psychologically," the First Lady emphasized.

According to the President's wife, the most effective way to influence Russia is comprehensive political pressure from the international community.

"That is why we are very grateful to U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, who is personally advocating for the return of Ukrainian children, and we are seeing positive developments in this process," Olena Zelenska noted.

She also highlighted the creation by the U.S. Department of State of a special program to locate and return Ukrainian children.

"It is important that reintegration programs will be part of this effort. When children return to Ukraine, they have to rebuild their lives from scratch. If a child has no close relatives, they may need a foster family rather than institutional care. Psychological and humanitarian assistance may also be needed. We are very grateful to the United States for understanding how important this is and for its support. We are grateful to all our partners for their support on this path," the President's wife stressed.