Abducted Ukrainian Teen to Become Prosecutor
Maria Lvova-Belova claims Pylip enrolled in a Moscow law school, while the initiative for the return of children condemns Russification and indoctrination
Maria Lvova-Belova claims Pylip enrolled in a Moscow law school, while the initiative for the return of children condemns Russification and indoctrination
Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova has stated that Ukrainian teenager Pylip, whom she "adopted" after he was taken from occupied Mariupol, has enrolled at a Russian university to become a prosecutor. According to her social media posts, the young man will study at the Moscow State Law University.
The Bring Kids Back UA initiative, which monitors cases of deportation of Ukrainian children, has strongly reacted to this news. "Russia is trying to present the consequences of Russification and indoctrination as 'salvation' and a 'new life'," the initiative said, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda. They emphasized that behind the university enrollment lies the removal of a child from occupied territory, the issuance of Russian documents, and the systematic erasure of identity.
In August 2022, Lvova-Belova announced that she had become a foster parent to a teenager from Ukraine. Pylip, along with thirty other children from Mariupol, was transported to a sanatorium in the Moscow region. A year later, the Russian official claimed that the boy celebrated his birthday with her family for the first time in several years.
According to her, when Pylip first arrived in the family, he would run after younger children shouting, "I'll eat you, little Moskal." However, Lvova-Belova now claims the situation has changed. "But now we love each other. My son started calling me mom," she said, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda.
The official, against whom the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant, later said that Pylip "complicated family dynamics" due to post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the attacks he experienced. She complained that the boy hated Russia and sang Ukrainian songs, but added that over time he began to distance himself from what she calls "Ukrainian propaganda."
The investigative project Schemes established the background of the boy's family situation. In 2017, Pylip lost his mother and since then lived with her ex-husband and his new wife.
Lvova-Belova is on the International Criminal Court's wanted list for her role in the forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia. Her public presentation of Pylip's case as a success story is part of a broader narrative by Russian authorities about "saving" children from war zones, which international organizations and Ukrainian authorities strongly condemn as illegal deportation.
