[Member spoke in Ukrainian, interpreted as follows:]

My name is Olga Tymchenko. I have the honour of telling you the story of Valeriia, an 18-year-old girl who is a symbol of resilience and the fight for freedom for me personally. Her life forever changed on February 24, 2022, when her hometown of Nova Kakhovka in Kherson region came under Russian occupation.

Before the war, Valeriia was a regular teenager. She loved dancing and aerial gymnastics. She loved walking along the banks of the Dnieper River and dreaming of the future. All of this came to a halt that morning when tanks with the letter Z and military heavy equipment appeared on the streets of the city. At first, nobody understood what was going on. Then everyone saw a Russian flag being hung on the hydroelectric power station building. That's when everyone understood that the war had really started.

Life under occupation was unbearable. Valeriia was constantly in fear. There was shelling, and there were explosions. Due to fear, she had continuous tinnitus.

The war started in October 2022 when the Russian occupiers started to “evacuate” children. On October 8, Valeriia, with more than 500 other children from Nova Kakhovka, were forcibly taken to occupied Crimea by the Russians. They were loaded onto 14 buses. They were taken under a military police convoy. The children were told that this was temporary, only for two weeks, but this was not true. Valeriia spent two months in Luchystiy camp in Yevpatoria. At that time, she was only 16.

Life in the camp was unbearable. The mornings began with the singing of the Russian anthem followed by lessons in which the children were told a false version of history. Teachers insisted that the Holodomor never happened and that Chernobyl was fiction. There was a lot of propaganda about the greatness of Russia. Children were told that their future lies with Russia. Children were also pressured to move to Russia. They were promised all sorts of benefits if only they agreed to receive a Russian passport. Valeriia was shocked to find out that sick children couldn't even get health care without agreeing to take on the Russian nationality.

It was especially difficult to watch the youngest children aged five- or six-years-old in this camp. They were dirty. They were coughing. They had head lice. The camp did not provide them with even with the most basic of conditions. There was no medication, and children were punished.

Two months later, her grandmother came to pick up Valeriia. She was allowed to leave the camp on the condition that she would return, but she risked everything and decided to go to Ukraine to the unoccupied territories. She travelled alone through Russian checkpoints in Mariupol, Rostov-on-Don and Belgorod. Valeriia went through filtration camps in Russia and had to walk for two hours with her bags through a minefield. When she finally saw Ukrainian soldiers, she burst into tears.

In Ukraine, Valeriia was all alone and no had family around, but she passed an exam and entered a medical college in Kyiv. She had a dorm room, a scholarship and an the opportunity to study.

I met her in the winter of 2023. She was full of pain but determined to continue and build her future. I decided to support her and take her into my custody. She accepted. For nine months now, we have been living together. We are a family. During this time, I have seen how deep Valeriia's desire is to help others. She is studying to become a doctor. Her dream is to treat sick and wounded war victims.

Her story is the story of every child in Ukraine who has seen the war and lost their childhood, but remains strong. It is also a reminder of the thousands of children who are still under occupation and deprived of their basic rights.

I urge you to support Ukraine, our children, our freedom and our dignity.

Thank you for your faith and for your attention.

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