Kidnapped, tortured and jailed: one woman’s quest to bring her son home from Russia

Kidnapped, tortured and jailed: one woman’s quest to bring her son home from Russia
Share:
Kidnapped, tortured and jailed: one woman’s quest to bring her son home from Russia
Author: Shaun Walker in Kharkiv
Published: Feb, 24 2025 08:00

Summary at a Glance

Maryna Zabavska was born in Tavilzhanka, a village in the Kharkiv region close to the border with Russia, to a Ukrainian father and a Russian mother from Leningrad.

As Russia’s full-scale invasion reaches its three-year mark, Ivan and Maryna’s story of kidnapping, torture and separation is just one of hundreds of thousands of family tragedies that have afflicted Ukrainians across the country, both those who are serving in the armed forces and those who are not.

Ivan and Maryna’s story is just one of hundreds of thousands of family tragedies that have afflicted Ukrainians after three years of Russian invasion.

The trio spoke Russian at home, and Ivan went to the same school in Tavilzhanka that his mother had attended two decades earlier.

What Ivan did not know – what he could not have known, as there was no telephone reception – was that his mother had left her village just before he set out on his journey.

Share:

More for You

Top Followed