In the Odesa region, police officers and rescuers freed four children whose mother left them alone in an apartment for nearly a day. The woman has been penalized multiple times for failing to fulfill her parental duties.

According to the National Police, the incident occurred on July 9 at around 5 PM in the town of Kodima. During a check on the living conditions of children in families facing difficult circumstances, social services visited the home of a 28-year-old woman raising four sons aged between 11 months and 9 years. The apartment door was locked, and the children indicated through a window that their mother had not been home since the previous evening.

Rescue workers were called to the scene to open the door, and medical staff, accompanied by social workers and a juvenile police officer, took the children to a medical facility for examination. Their health is not in jeopardy.

“The woman has previously been held administratively liable for failing to fulfill her parental duties in 2021, 2023, and 2024. The court imposed fines on her, which she paid. Regarding yesterday's incident, the mother returned home when the children were already with us. We have drawn up a report under part 1 of article 184 of the Code of Ukraine on administrative offenses. The maximum penalty that can be imposed is a fine of 1700 hryvnias. We have also contacted the child services again to consider the issue of removing the boys and revoking the mother's parental rights,” said Lyudmyla Bubernko, Deputy Head of the Police Activity Department No. 1 of the Podilsk District Police Department.