Kherson Pastor: Russians Took 46 Babies And Toddlers From Orphanage

Newsy's Jason Bellini is the first to visit a church where 46 orphans were abducted by the Russians. He speaks with the pastor about what happened.

On a floor in the basement of the Calvary Baptist Church in Kherson lies empty mattresses and a room full of cushions used as makeshift beds. For seven long months this was home to 46 Ukrainian babies and toddlers, all orphans, until the Russians took them away. 

Kherson was the first major city to fall to the invaders. A local orphanage, home to children from 4 months to 4 years old, was dangerously close to the fighting. 

"There were battles, explosions, helicopters and planes flying overhead," said the church pastor, Fedir Koznynec.