By Olha Chepil | 2025-09-04

A little girl who can still assemble a rifle from memory. A teenager who threw away her Ukrainian notebooks to survive a checkpoint search. They are among the children returning from Russian-occupied territories to Ukraine -- free at last, but carrying invisible scars that psychologists are now struggling to heal.

About 1.6 million children live in territories occupied by Russia -- nearly one in five Ukrainian schoolchildren -- according to a report by the Almenda Center for Civic Education. For many, returning to Ukrainian-controlled territory is a confrontation with the effects of deep psychological trauma.

"These little 'hedgehogs' arrive, traumatized by Russian propaganda and by their education in a Russian school," Olha Yerokhina, team lead of media communications at the Voices of Children foundation, told Kontur. "It's like they lost their place in this world, and they don't trust adults."

Deprived of choices

Minors returning from Russian-occupied territories are often confused and frightened, and recovery can take months.

Nataliia Sosnovenko, a psychologist with Voices of Children, told Kontur these children faced physical, emotional and psychological abuse that disrupts development.

She cited basement sheltering during attacks, family separations, "filtration" at roadblocks, forced Russian curricula, shortages of food and medicine and violence -- all experiences that create complex trauma.

"Many children coming from the occupation say that they had no choices there -- from language all the way to, say, what club you want to join. Russia is a huge machine that breaks them and grinds them up," Yerokhina said.

The Kremlin has also militarized education in occupied areas, according to the Ukrainian National Resistance Center, which reported plans to double the number of Youth Army centers this year. Ukrainian language instruction is being eliminated and textbooks replaced with Russian versions.

"There was one little girl who arrived who had been trained to take apart and assemble a rifle. To this day she can still do all of it. She remembers everything she was taught there," Yerokhina said.

Psychologists say trauma in children manifests differently by age. Young children may be listless, fearful and have trouble eating or sleeping. Toddlers can be skittish, easily influenced and prone to hysterics. School-age children and young adolescents may act aggressively, withdraw, become hyperactive and struggle in school and with peers. Older teens may lie, lash out in anger or sink into depression.

"If a child who has experienced harsh forms of abuse during occupation or deportation doesn't get counseling and rehabilitation in a timely manner, they could develop serious mental disorders in the future," Sosnovenko added.

A safe space

Professionals support these children through individual counseling, including art and play therapy, and sometimes by working with families.

"A huge number of adolescents age 12 and up have lost their place in this world, they don't trust adults, they want to live in Ukraine, but they don't open up immediately," Yerokhina said.

When children are depressed upon their arrival, haunted by nightmares or angry outbursts, psychologists use crisis counseling.

"The child has a hard road ahead of them. They have to adapt to a new place, go through the process of documenting the crimes committed against them, and think through and process a traumatic experience," Sosnovenko explained.

Support extends beyond therapy to schools, clubs and social-emotional learning programs.

"This is our environment: they return, settle here, live, they're given help, and the environment heals. Without coercion, propaganda or a constant threat hanging over their heads, children adapt more quickly and begin to trust adults," Sosnovenko added.

The Voices of Children foundation, Ukraine's largest, operates 10 centers nationwide, including in front-line cities such as Sumy, Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih and Dnipro. The centers provide safe spaces and support for children and families affected by the war.

"When your home has been seized and there are threats, you need to work with every child," Yerokhina said.

From the occupation to life

Olya, a university student, spent a decade under Russian occupation in Donetsk Region. She was four when troops seized her hometown. Her path to freedom and studies in Kyiv was difficult and dangerous.

"I left the occupied territories in 2024. It was very hard to travel because the inspection was strict. They searched for everything that could connect us to Ukraine," Olya told Kontur.

To pass through filtration, Olya scrubbed her phone and invented cover stories. She discarded her notebooks with Ukrainian writing to avoid punishment.

"They inspected really closely," she said. "The girl behind me had a guitar, and they looked inside it to make sure there was nothing there."

Olya said she never learned Ukrainian in school. After the occupation, classes were eliminated and Ukrainian literature disappeared. Instead, she studied the language through free YouTube lessons.

Despite the occupation, Olya's family has remained loyal to Ukraine. After arriving in Kyiv, she said she finally felt free and safe.

"Here the people are closer to me in spirit. I can speak to them in my native language. In Donetsk Region many people are waiting for Ukraine, and they're convinced they're going to live under Ukraine," said Olya, who has not seen her family in a year. They stayed behind to care for elderly relatives.

Now working and studying, Olya plans to attend law school and hopes to defend children's rights.

Even after years of occupation and trauma, children can recover and build a future if they are safe, supported and heard, psychologists say.

"This is their home, they're welcome here, and it is here where they can build their free future," Yerokhina said.