Russia kidnapped me and thousands more. We need US to help Ukraine free other stolen children

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I was just a teenager when Russian officials kidnapped me and my 11-year-old brother Serhiy from our home in Ukraine. What came next were the worst 9 months of my life.

Serhiy and I are orphans from Kharkiv but when Russia launched its war, we relocated to Vovchansk, a nearby city, to live in a foster family. We hid in a basement for months, until Russian authorities occupied our town and took custody of my brother and me.

We wanted to stay with our foster parents, but the Russians put us on a bus with other children. I was sent to Shebekino, a town near Belgorod, and my brother to Gelendzhik in Krasnodar Krai across the Russian border.

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We were told that this trip would last three weeks. But we were separated by 900 miles for nine months. Serhiy and I didn’t realize it at the time, but we had just been abducted by Russia.

What does this have to do with Americans, or the support Ukraine so desperately needs?

Legislation that will provide critical assistance to Ukraine has passed through Congress and has been signed by President Joe Biden. Speaker Mike Johnson has said "tyrants" like Russian President Vladimir Putin are "watching to see if America will stand up for its allies and our own interests around the globe."

The assistance package sends a clear message to Putin: the U.S. is not backing down. Ukrainians are grateful for this message, and we are asking the U.S. and all Americans to continue to stand by us as we continue to fight Putin and try to preserve our national identity.

Ukrainians are counting on the U.S. to overcome the internal divisions that have delayed this desperately