An opera in Kyiv depicts the tragedy of Ukrainian children deported during the war.

A new contemporary opera premiering in Kyiv tells the harrowing story of Ukrainian mothers trying to find their abducted children amid the conflict with Russia. The work, titled “Mothers of Kherson”, was performed at the Taras Shevchenko National Opera and Ballet Theatre.

The performance was preceded by a minute of silence in tribute to the children who died during the war, illustrating the powerful emotional and political weight of the work. The opera follows the journey of women who have crossed several countries and war zones in an attempt to recover their children, who were supposedly taken to occupied territories.

The work is inspired by true stories and was jointly commissioned by major international cultural institutions, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Polish National Opera in Warsaw, highlighting its global reach.

According to the authors, this production aims to raise awareness among the international public about the human consequences of the conflict and the situation of families separated by war.

Ukrainian authorities claim that thousands of children have been moved to areas controlled by Russia since the start of the conflict, an accusation that Moscow rejects, claiming that these were evacuations for security reasons.

A United Nations commission, for its part, has described these potential deportations as crimes against humanity, further increasing diplomatic tensions around this sensitive issue.