A mother and her little son, who were illegally deported to Voronezh region of Russia, have been returned to Ukraine, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets has said.

"In May, a family who had been illegally deported to Russia turned to the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. They asked for help returning them to Ukraine. As it turned out, before the start of the full-scale war, the family lived in Lyptsi, Kharkiv region. The Russian occupiers entered their village in the first the same day of the invasion, on February 24. On March 16, 2022 the occupying authorities forcibly, grossly violating all human and civil rights, took the family to Voronezh region," the Ombudsman said on its website on Tuesday.

In order for the family to receive a certificate for returning to Ukraine, the Ombudsman's Office promptly contacted the State Migration Service, escort to the territory of the Russian Federation was provided jointly with the organization dealing with the return of deported persons.

Lubinets said the Russian side did not want to let the family through at the border, despite having all the necessary documents. The mother and child were returned to Ukraine on June 18, now they are in Kharkiv.