CBC News: Anton, 23, kidnapped by Russia
Anton, 23, lives with severe disabilities. He was stolen by Russia from the Oleshky boarding school in Kherson region. His mother refuses to give up hope. CBC News tells her story.
A Mother’s Hope
Anton, 23, lives with severe disabilities. He was stolen by Russia from the Oleshky boarding school in Kherson region. His mother refuses to give up hope. CBC News tells her story.
“I do not know if my son is alive. But I search for him every day, because no mother should ever be forced to give up hope”, – Hanna Zamyshliaieva, mother of Anton.
Anton was kidnapped from the Oleshky boarding school in Kherson and forcibly brought to Russia in autumn 2022. His mother, Hanna, now a Goodwill Ambassador for Emile Foundation, continues to speak out so the world does not forget him.
CBC News brings the topic on screen
On CBC News: The National, journalist Briar Stewart documented Hanna’s story with extraordinary care and integrity. But Anton is not an isolated case:
👉 From Oleshky (Oleksyi) boarding school, 105 children with disabilities were kidnapped.
👉 From the Kherson Home Orphanage, 48 children were taken, some even handed over for adoption, including to Russian officials.
As Mariam Lambert, CEO of Emile Foundation, mentioned on CBC:
“Time is the biggest weapon of this war. Children separated as infants won’t remember their mothers. After years of brainwashing, they believe Ukraine abandoned them. But when they return, they will know the truth: that their families, and all of us, never gave up on them, not for a single day in these three years.”
Emile Foundation’s focus and appeal to the world
At Emile Foundation, our focus is clear:
🔹 Tracking stolen children like Anton, case by case.
🔹 Developing return mechanisms in cooperation with third countries and international partners.
🔹 Providing legal, psychosocial, and housing support to families left behind.
The world is finally listening.
But the victims themselves must be heard, because this is their story, their child, their grief.
Yesterday, President Zelenskyi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney co-hosted a UN meeting on Ukraine’s stolen children. We welcome this momentum. Now it must be turned into concrete, collective action.
🙏 Our gratitude to the CBC team, and especially to Briar Stewart, Angela Johnston, for amplifying these voices with ethics and compassion.
#Ukraine #ChildProtection #HumanRights #BringChildrenBack #JusticeForChildren #UkrainianStolenChildren
Video credit: CBC News: The National