Missing 19-year-old “war child” from Kherson region found in Russian army. Says heʼs “on his side”

19-year-old Oleksandr Mustyatse from the village of Krynky in the Kherson region, who, according to the Children of War platform, is missing, ended up in the Russian army. He himself explained that "Russia was always in his heart".

The “Back to Ukraine” initiative wrote about this.

This is the first such case established by activists. On his social networks, he published photos in a Russian military uniform with the symbol "Z" and the Russian flag. The guy also shared photos from positions. However, this page of his has been inactive since 2025.

Activists believed that this could mean anything, perhaps he is no longer alive. However, today the platform clarified that they tried to write Mustyatse on social networks, and a new page with his photo appeared there.

The “Back to Ukraine” team found a list of Mustyatseʼs wifeʼs friends on social media, and among them was the account "Alexander Famenok". The initiative claims that it was not mistaken and that this account belongs to Mustyatse. When he was addressed as Oleksandr Mustyatse during correspondence, he responded.

The guy wrote that he was "on his side", and stopped answering clarifying questions.

• According to “Bring Kids Back UA”, as of today, 2 414 children have been returned to Ukraine from the occupation, while another 1.6 million remain under the control of the Russian Federation. These children have either been deported, forcibly relocated to the Russian Federation, or are in temporarily occupied territory.

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