Ukrainian woman detained in Kazakhstan was ‘lured’ by grandson’s ‘new relatives’ – commissioner

Ukrainian citizen Liubov Rozhanska may have been deceived into traveling to Kazakhstan to retrieve her grandson, according to a statement from Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets on October 3. Rozhanska, who traveled to Kazakhstan to take custody of her minor grandson and return him to Ukraine, ended up being detained on the basis of a Russian criminal case initiated in 2023.

According to Lubinets, Rozhanska was "lured" into Kazakhstan through deception by the boy's "new relatives" in collusion with Russia's FSB. The commissioner revealed that the boy's family contacted Rozhanska, deceiving her into believing they were her relatives and convincing her to come to Kazakhstan to claim the child. Lubinets also shared a staged video depicting the boy falsely boarding a plane to Kazakhstan, allegedly to convince Rozhanska to make the journey.

Russia is seeking her extradition, and Lubinets urged Kazakhstan's ombudsman, Artur Lastayev, to prevent the extradition and protect Rozhanska's safety, health, and fundamental rights. Kazakhstan detained Rozhanska on October 1 at the request of Russia after she arrived in Astana to reclaim her grandson. Russia accuses her of kidnapping the child, while her attorney, Oleksii Prianishnykov, stated that in 2023, Russian authorities detained two Ukrainian citizens who were also attempting to pick up the same boy in Lithuania before their arrest.

They were charged with attempted child abduction and espionage, and subsequently sentenced to 15 and 16 years in a penal colony. The boy is reportedly on lists of children illegally held in Russia. Rozhanska is currently held in a temporary detention center in Astana, and a court hearing for her potential extradition to Russia is anticipated soon.