Inside daring effort to rescue Ukrainian children

DESPERATE AND DARING ATTEMPT TO GET HER SON BACK. >> Reporter: IN A VIDEO POSTED BY PRO-RUSSIAN MEDIA UKRAINIAN MOTHER OKSANA STETSENKO IS SEEN GETTING OFF THE TRAIN IN SOUTHWESTERN RUSSIA. THE RUSSIAN REPORTER NARRATES, OKSANA'S SON NIKITA WAS TAKEN TO A FROM A VILLAGE OF KUPYANSK TO A SAFE PLACE BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY, HE SAYS. NOW HE'S BEING HANDED BACK TO HIS MOTHER. BUT WHAT THE REPORTER DOESN'T SAY IS 12-YEAR-OLD NIKITA WAS KEPT FOR EIGHT MONTHS IN A SCHOOL IN RUSSIAN-OCCUPIED LUHANSK WITHOUT HIS MOTHER'S KNOWLEDGE. OKSANA SAYS SHE HAD NO IDEA IF HER SON WAS ALIVE. "THEY TOOK OUR CHILDREN," SHE TOLD US, DAYS AFTER THAT REUNION. "THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO KEEP THEM THERE." IT DEPICTS THE RUSSIAN STATE AS SAVIOR. "WE TAKE CHILDREN OUT OF THE CONFLICT ZONE, SAVING THEIR LIVES," PRESIDENT PUTIN SAID LAST WEEK. AND THE FACE OF THE RUSSIAN OPERATION IS COMMISSIONER FOR CHILD RIGHTS MARIA LVOVA-BELOVA. BOTH LVOVA-BELOVA AND PUTIN WERE ACCUSED OF ALLEGED WAR CRIMES. OF THE UNLAWFUL TRANSFER OF UKRAINIAN CHILDREN, PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY SAYS MORE THAN 200,000 UKRAINIAN KIDS HAVE BEEN DEPORTED TO RUSSIA AND RUSSIAN-OCCUPIED TERRITORY. THE UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT SAYS AT LEAST 370 HAVE BEEN BROUGHT BACK INCLUDING NIKITA. THE NGOs HEADED BY KULEBA ORGANIZED OKSANA'S DARING TRIP 3,000 MILES ALL THE WAY INTO RUSSIA TO BRING HOME HER SON. >> THEY'RE NOT GIVING THEM BACK. WE'RE TAKING THEM BACK. >> Reporter: SINCE THE ICC ARREST WARRANT KULEBA SAYS RUSSIA IS MAKING IT HARDER. >> RUSSIANS UNDERSTAND NOW THAT EACH CASE IS VALUED FOR ICC FOR UKRAINIAN FOR FUTURE COURT. >> Reporter: EACH CASE COULD BE EVIDENCE? >> EACH CASE IS EVIDENCE OF WAR CRIME. >> Reporter: ON SEPTEMBER 8, NIKITA SAYS RUSSIAN TROOPS TOOK HIM AND 12 CLASSMATES FROM THEIR BOARDING SCHOOL OUTSIDE OF KHARKIV JUST TWO DAYS BEFORE UKRAINIAN TROOPS LIBERATED THE AREA. THEY WERE SENT TO THE SPECIAL CORRECTIONAL SCHOOL IN RUSSIAN-OCCUPIED LUHANSK. NBC NEWS FOUND THIS PICTURE OF NIKITA ON THE SCHOOL'S WEBSITE. HE SAYS THEY SANG THE RUSSIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM. HIS CLASSMATES IN UNIFORMS WITH RUSSIAN Zs. THEY'RE UKRAINIAN KIDS. NO, HE SAYS. THESE KIDS AREN'T UKRAINIAN ANYMORE? HE SAYS, THEY'RE NOT UKRAINIAN ANYMORE BECAUSE THEY WERE GRABBED. UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS DESCRIBING WHAT THEY SAY IS PUTIN'S PLAN TO ERASE UKRAINIAN IDENTITY. >> YOU NEVER WERE UKRAINIANS, BECAUSE THE UKRAINIAN NATION NEVER EXISTS LIKE A NATION. YOU ALL TIME WERE RUSSIANS. >> Reporter: WERE YOU SCARED TO GO INTO RUSSIA? OKSANA SAYS, IT WAS TERRIFYING GOING INTO RUSSIA. "I WAS SHAKING AT EVERY BORDER CROSSING." BUT IT WASN'T EVEN A QUESTION, SHE SAYS, UNLESS YOU'RE A MOTHER, YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND. IN A STATEMENT TO NBC NEWS, LVOVA-BELOVA SAYS RUSSIA HAS ALWAYS HELPED AND CONTINUES TO HELP FAMILIES BE UNITED. BUT OKSANA IS CLEAR NO RUSSIAN OFFICIAL, NO ONE FROM THE SCHOOL EVER GOT IN TOUCH. "I CRIED AT NIGHT," SHE SAYS. "THE PILLOW WAS COVERED IN TEARS. I HAD NO IDEA HOW TO GET HIM BACK."

Channel: NBC News

Views: 4,809

Keywords: Health, International News, Lester Holt, Making A Difference, NBC Nightly News, National News, News, Nightly News, U.S. News, breaking news, evening news, politics, world news

Id: 8XIkt-5tFyA

Length: 3min 59sec (239 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 28 2023