# Russia’s invasion stranded thousands of Ukrainian children; one 12-year-old left her occupied village without her mother

https://mins.news/en/item/105722

- Meduza, 2026-10-19 04:40 UTC
- World
- Original: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/10/19/russia-s-invasion-left-thousands-of-ukrainian-children-stranded-in-russia-for-one-12-year-old-girl-the-only-way-out-of-her-occupied-village-led-away-from-her-mother

> When Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, explosions woke 12-year-old Veronika Vlasova and relatives in a village in the Kharkiv region. She later left occupied territory with a relative but could not return to her mother. The story is drawn from a book about Ukrainian children taken to Russia and efforts to reunite them with their families.

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