Artem, 15 years old
Artem comes from Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region. After Russian troops captured the city, he – along with twelve other children – was forced into a military vehicle and abducted.
The occupiers took the children to an orphanage in Swatowe – in the territory of the Russian-occupied, so-called "Luhansk People's Republic". For two months, Artem's mother didn't even know where her son was.
In the orphanage, Artem had to sleep in a basement on dirty bed linen. He was supposed to "earn" a better place to sleep: he was forced to work.
Artem was given a Russian military uniform and forced to participate in military exercises. He was pressured to join the Russian army. Artem refused.
When his mother finally found out where Artem was being held and was able to reach the camp, the camp management initially refused to release him: According to Russian law, she had been deprived of custody.
Although Ukraine had liberated Kupyansk, Luhansk was still under Russian control. Only through a rescue mission by an aid organization was Artem finally able to return home to his family.
