Ukrainian Soldier Helps Reunite Russian Mother and Daughter Separated by Conflict
A rare cross-border effort enabled the return of a three-year-old girl stranded in Ukrainian-occupied territory to her mother in Russia after four months of separation.
- Anastassia Gridina, a 21-year-old Russian mother, was separated from her three-year-old daughter, Darina, during a surprise Ukrainian military incursion into Russia's Kursk region in August.
- Darina and her great-grandmother were stranded in Ukrainian-occupied territory, living in harsh conditions in a partially destroyed school in the town of Sudzha for four months.
- A Ukrainian soldier, identified only as Alexei, acted as a mediator, sharing videos between the mother and daughter and orchestrating a plan to bring Darina to safety.
- The operation involved moving Darina and others from occupied Kursk to Ukraine's Sumy region, then through Belarus, with the assistance of the Red Cross, before returning to Russia.
- The ordeal has left Darina traumatized, struggling with fears of abandonment, while her family remains grateful to Alexei for his role in their reunion.
Sud Ouest 