Ukrainian orphan recounts forced transfer and life under Russian occupation

Al Jazeera has published a personal account from Ukrainian orphan Denys Kostev describing his experience under Russian occupation. According to his own testimony, he was forcibly transferred in 2022, an event that marked the start of a difficult journey through occupied territory.

Coercion into campaigns

Kostev says that following his transfer, he was coerced into participating in pro-Russian campaigns. He describes this pressure as part of his broader experience, offering a personal narrative of what it meant to be a child without parental protection amid war and occupation.

Escape

The account culminates in Kostev's escape from occupied territory. He describes his decision to leave as driven by a desire to live freely, ultimately motivating him to find a way out of a situation he had been placed in against his will.

Kostev's story adds to a broader body of testimony concerning the fate of children and young people in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war. Al Jazeera published his experience as part of a journalistic account reflecting one individual's path through the challenges created by the conflict.

Additional specific details about the exact location and timeline of the transfer and subsequent escape are not currently known, but Kostev's testimony offers a rare glimpse into one person's experience, reflecting a wider issue concerning the situation of Ukrainian children and orphans amid the war.