Four years after the invasion of Ukraine, many individuals who lived in institutional settings remain missing. Among them is the severely disabled son of Hanna Zamyshliaieva, who vanished in southern Ukraine following the Russian incursion.
Zamyshliaieva, along with two other women whose relatives are among the missing from residential schools and institutions, remain determined to find their loved ones. “I am here to fight for the return of my child,” declared Zamyshliaieva. She expressed deep concern, stating, “I don’t know where my son is, what’s going on with him, what condition he is in, and if he’s still alive.”
Accompanied by another mother and a grandmother, Zamyshliaieva traveled to Kyiv to raise awareness about their cases at a news conference. The missing family members had been residents of a specialized care home in Oleshky, Kherson province, when Russia expanded its military operations in 2022. According to the women, they were subsequently relocated without any notification to their families.
The forced deportation of Ukrainians by Russia, including many younger than those from the care home, is a contentious aspect of the conflict. Ukrainian authorities have reported that 19,500 Ukrainian children were forcibly transferred or deported from schools and institutions across occupied territories after the Russian invasion. The deportation of some children to Russia was cited as a reason for the war crimes arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against President Vladimir V. Putin and his aide, Maria Lvova-Belova.
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