Liubov Rozhanska was released from a Kazakh detention facility after being held at Russia's request while attempting to retrieve her grandson.
Key facts
- •Liubov Rozhanska was released on October 4 after being detained at the request of Russia.
- •The 8-year-old grandson remains in Russia, where he has lived with his mother since 2021.
- •Rozhanska’s lawyer, Alexei Pryanishnikov, alleged that the meeting in Kazakhstan was an FSB operation.
- •A Ukrainian court previously ruled that the child should live with his father.
- •Two individuals who attempted to retrieve the child in 2023 were sentenced to 15 and 16 years in prison.
Ukrainian citizen Liubov Rozhanska was released from a detention facility in Kazakhstan on October 4 following her arrest at Astana airport. Rozhanska had traveled to the country to collect her 8-year-old grandson, who is on a list of children unlawfully held in Russia. Her lawyer, Alexei Pryanishnikov, stated that the detention period expired without a pretrial restriction, allowing her to leave Kazakhstan for Odesa.
Circumstances of the Detention
Rozhanska was detained on October 1 after arriving from Istanbul. According to her lawyer, the grandson was never brought to Kazakhstan, and he characterized a video suggesting the boy's departure for the meeting as a staged operation by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). The child has been living in the Kaliningrad region with his mother, who received Russian citizenship in 2022.
Legal Disputes Over Custody
The boy's father, who serves in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, holds a Ukrainian court ruling granting him custody. A separate ruling from a court in Kaliningrad had previously permitted the father to have in-person contact with his son during summer holidays. Previous attempts to retrieve the child in 2023 resulted in the detention of two Ukrainian citizens, who were subsequently sentenced to prison terms on charges of espionage and attempted abduction.
Timeline
- 2021The child was taken to Russia by his mother.
- 2022The mother and child received Russian citizenship.
- October 1, 2026Liubov Rozhanska was detained at Astana airport.
- October 4, 2026Rozhanska was released from a Kazakh detention facility.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by The Insider (Russia).
