To free the child, the Security Service of Ukraine conducted a special operation in Chernihiv region, when this area was temporarily occupied by invaders.

When russia’s full-scale invasion began, the boy’s mother - a contract servicewoman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - sent her son to relatives in a village in Chernihiv region to keep him safe.

But soon the village was temporarily occupied, and the connection with the child was lost.

A few days later, the mother received a call from an unknown phone number. She was told that her son was in captivity. The occupiers set a condition for the teenager’s release: he’ll be free in exchange for information about the location of several military facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Chernihiv region.

The woman turned to the SSU for help. The SSU Counterintelligence developed and conducted a successful special operation to rescue the child.

The case file is now part of a vast array of evidence of violation of laws and customs of war by the occupiers.