A Son’s Journey Home: Marka’s Story of Separation and Reunion

When Russian forces arrested Marka’s mother in occupied Torez, he was only nine years old. The news came to him indirectly, overheard during a phone conversation his guardian was having. “My mom, well, Yulia, is in captivity,” the voice said. The words shattered his world. Marka burst into tears and ran to his brother, trying to process a reality no child should face.

A Mother’s Impossible Choice

Yulia’s ordeal began in 2021 when authorities came to her home and accused her and her husband of being Ukrainian spies. They were arrested without a shred of evidence. In occupied territory, proving innocence is impossible because law doesn’t exist. Even lawyers work for the local regime, becoming prosecutors rather than defenders.

The authorities presented Yulia with a document stating her children would be sent to an orphanage. Unless she signed a confession admitting she was a Ukrainian spy, her children would disappear into the system. Even if she signed, they wouldn’t release her, but they would allow her friend to take guardianship instead of losing them to an institution. “I think any mother in that situation would sign anything,” Yulia reflects.

Living Under Occupation

For two years, Marka tried to survive in a reality designed to erase his identity. In Russian schools on occupied territory, propaganda became part of daily life. Teachers forced students to learn and sing the Russian anthem. They told children that Ukraine was the enemy, that Ukraine was bombing Donetsk and other cities. This indoctrination intensified after the full-scale invasion, when Russian authorities took control and converted the entire curriculum to Russian. Learning and performing the Russian anthem became mandatory.

Through it all, Marka held onto hope that he would see his mother again. It was the thread that kept him going through the darkest days.

The Happiest Day

October 2022 brought the moment Marka had been praying for. His guardian called him over one evening with news that would change everything: “Your mom has been exchanged.” The joy was overwhelming. The next day, contact with his mother was restored, and she immediately began planning. “We need to get you and Danyk out,” she told him.

The extraction took two months of careful, dangerous planning. His mother prepared him for what lay ahead: “If they put a bag over your head and tape it with scotch, don’t be afraid. It’s the road to me.” These words, which would terrify any parent to speak and any child to hear, became Marka’s compass toward freedom.

Coming Home

When the moment of reunion finally arrived, Marka could barely contain himself. As soon as they arrived and he realized he was about to see his mother, he ran to her. First, he hugged her tightly. Then he did something that spoke volumes about the boy he had become during their separation: he lifted her up, showing her how much he had grown.

Yulia had worried deeply about those lost years, the time when she knew her children and cared for them. She feared they might not accept her as their mother anymore, that too much time and trauma had passed. But her fears were unfounded. The children who returned were still her children.

For Marka, freedom and security mean knowing that an alarm won’t suddenly sound, that shelling won’t begin, that life can continue. His dream now is simple but profound: for his whole family to be together and for the war to end.

Bringing Every Child Home

Marka’s story is one of thousands. Ukrainian children continue to be forcibly taken from their families, subjected to propaganda and forced assimilation, and separated from everything they know and love. Organizations like We Are All Ukrainians USA work tirelessly to fund rescue and recovery efforts, bringing these children back to their families and helping them heal from the trauma of abduction.

Every child deserves to grow up in freedom, to know their own identity, and to be with their family. The mission continues until every Ukrainian child is brought home.

Help Ukrainian families rescue children who have been taken away. Give now.

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