KIDNAPPED: Margarita Prokopenko was the girl’s name when she was in an orphanage in Ukraine. According to the BBC, she was abducted to the home of a top Russian politician. Photo: Social media/ BBC
The powerful politician Sergej Mironov (70) is said to have adopted a two-year-old who was taken from an orphanage in Ukraine, according to a BBC revelation.
Published:
Less than 20 minutes ago
The BBC reveals that the powerful Russian politician Sergey Mironov (70) is said to have adopted two-year-old Margarita Prokopenko, who was abducted from a Ukrainian orphanage in 2022. The girl’s identity was changed after the adoption, and her name was changed to Marina Mironova. Mironov denies the allegations and criticizes “false information attacks” against him and his family. Several children, including Margarita’s half-brother, are said to have been abducted. Ukraine has indicted a Russian politician and two Ukrainians for the abduction of 48 children from the orphanage in Kherson. Show more
Two-year-old Ukrainian girl Margarita Prokopenko was one of 48 children who disappeared from the regional orphanage in Kherson when Russian forces took control of the city.
Now has BBC revealed that the powerful Russian politician Sergej Mironov (70) is listed in the adoption papers for the two-year-old.
The identity of the girl must have been changed after she came to Russia. She has now been given the name Marina Mironova, after him who, according to the Russian papers, is now her adoptive father.
Mironov is married to the woman who allegedly took the child from the orphanage in Ukraine in 2022, according to the British broadcaster.
Mironov (70) is, as former head of the Federation Council and leader of the A Just Russia party in the National Assembly, a very powerful politician in Russia. He is on the sanctions lists in a number of Western countries.
MAN IN POWER: Sergej Mironov (70) is a former head of the Federation Council and head of the A Just Russia party in the Duma. Photo: IMAGO/Alexey Maishev
The woman in purple
The Margarita mystery began in August 2022 when a woman in a purple dress appeared at a children’s hospital in Kherson, where the then 10-month-old baby was being treated for bronchitis. Margarita was the youngest child in the orphanage where she lived.
The woman in purple introduced herself as “responsible for children’s affairs in Moscow”, the doctor Nataliya Lyutikova at the children’s hospital tells BBC.
Soon after the woman had left, the doctor received repeated calls from a newly appointed Russian manager at the orphanage, demanding that Margarita be sent back to the orphanage immediately.
The day after the infant was back at the orphanage, the staff were told to dress Margarita for a trip.
– We were scared, everyone was scared, says nurse at the home Lyubov Sayko to the BBC.
According to her, Russian men, some in camouflage clothing, and one with sunglasses and a suitcase, came and picked up the little girl. Sayko describes it as “something out of a movie”.
The BBC has found train tickets from Russia to occupied Ukraine in the name of politician Mironov’s wife, Inna Varlamova (55). She must have traveled in alone, on the same day that Margarita was taken from the hospital, and on the return trip she had two tickets.
EMPTY: The children’s beds are empty at the orphanage in Kherson, which says they have lost 48 children to abduction. Photo: Bernat Armangue / AP
Sergej Mironov has not responded directly to the allegations, but via his Telegram– account on Thursday he published criticism of what he calls “false information attacks” against him and his family.
ABANDONED: Clothes and toys lie on the floor of the regional orphanage in Kherson. Photo: Bernat Armangue / AP
According to the orphanage, the abduction of Margarita was only the beginning. For seven weeks, several children, including Margarita’s half-brother, are said to have been taken away by, among others, the Russian elected official Igor Kastyukevich, writes the BBC.
Kastyukevich himself posted a video of this on Telegram. He said the children should be taken to “safe surroundings in Crimea”. Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014.
THE ORPHANAGE: It was at the regional orphanage in Kherson that little Margarita lived. Photo: Bernat Armangue / AP
Arrest warrant for Putin
On 30 June, it became clear that Ukraine has indicted a Russian politician and two Ukrainians for abducting 48 children from an orphanage in Kherson. These are the first suspects to be charged in the case.
Ukraine believes that over 19,000 children have been illegally sent to Russia or Russian-controlled areas.
Accusations of recording children are the reason why the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children’s Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova in March.
Russia has rejected the accusation from the ICC, saying that the country does not recognize the court and that the arrest warrant is therefore not valid.
Published:
Published: 24.11.23 at 12:06 p.m
Copy linkCopy linkShare on FacebookShare on FacebookShare by emailShare by email
2023-11-24 11:06:53
#BBC #Putin #ally #adopted #abducted #Ukrainian #child
