Moscow says it has gathered hundreds of thousands of orphans and vulnerable children from annexed Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, taking them to Russia. Sixteen-year-old Ilona Pavliuk was able to escape that fate with the help of a charity last month
After nearly a year and a half locked away in hiding under Russian occupation, followed by a daring escape last month, Ilona Pavliuk, 16, could hardly believe it was ok to just stop and play.
"I couldn't go anywhere, because my father was worried. He said that the Russians could rape me. Or kill me: there had been such cases. He didn't even let me go to the park - it's 100 metres from our house! So I didn't go out, I stayed at home," Ilona recounted at a hostel in Kyiv, tugging absentmindedly at Valera, her fuzzy toy penguin.
"I knew I had to leave, because they would have taken me to Russia, given me a Russian passport, and sent me to an orphanage," Ilona said. "One or two days after I left, they came to my house, and I wasn't there. What if I had stayed?" Ilona and Maksym were able to escape with the help of Save Ukraine, a charity that maintains an underground network inside occupied parts of Ukraine and Russia itself, helping children flee. It says it has rescued 200 children so far.
Save Ukraine moved fast for Maksym and Ilona. Within days of their father's death, volunteers inside Russian-held territory helped the children flee, first to Russia itself, then to Belarus, then across the border and home at last to Ukraine. Details of the journey are kept confidential to protect activists along the route.
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