TL;DR
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A chapter from Meduza’s new book tells how 12-year-old Veronika Vlasova was separated from her mother when Russia’s full-scale invasion began near their village in the Kharkiv region. The supplied excerpt describes the first hours of the invasion and her mother’s failed attempt to reach her; it does not establish what happened afterward or Veronika’s current whereabouts.
Meduza has published a chapter from “Stolen Youth: How Russia Kidnaps Ukrainian Children — And How Ukrainians Get Them Back,” recounting how 12-year-old Veronika Vlasova was caught in the opening hours of Russia’s full-scale invasion near the Russian border and separated from her mother. The excerpt describes the family’s flight to shelter and her mother’s attempt to reach her, but the supplied material does not say what happened to Veronika afterward or where she is now.
The book was released in October by Meduza’s publishing house. It was written by Russian journalist Nina Nazarova and Ukrainian journalist Sviatoslav Khomenko, with support from the StraightForward Foundation. Meduza says the authors tracked cases of children taken from Ukrainian territories into Russia from the start of the full-scale invasion and spoke with separated families. The book describes what it calls four methods of illegal deportation; the supplied excerpt does not detail all four.
Veronika lived with her mother, Nina Vlasova, in Pylna, a village in the Kharkiv region near Russia. On the night of February 23, 2022, she went to stay with her aunt Tetiana and uncle Serhii in neighboring Borysivka. The household included three other girls, including Veronika’s cousin, who was her age. Shortly after 4 a.m. on February 24, an explosion woke them.
Veronika later recalled that the family took shelter in a pit around a water pump in the yard. She called her mother and said, “Mom, they’re shooting here!” Vlasova, a former soldier, recognized the sound of mortar fire. After learning that Russian troops had crossed the border and were moving toward Kharkiv, she drove to the city, but Ukrainian soldiers at a checkpoint in Saltivka would not let people leave because of the danger. She turned back without reaching her daughter.
A Family Separated at the Border
The account shows how the invasion’s rapid advance disrupted families before they could make plans or travel safely. In this case, a child’s visit to relatives became an involuntary separation when Russian forces crossed the border and access between the villages and Kharkiv was constrained by fighting and military checkpoints.
The chapter also forms part of a book focused on the return of children separated from their families. Meduza says its authors followed thousands of cases, but the excerpt itself gives no independently verified total, no account of the methods discussed in the other chapters, and no details about the outcome for Veronika. Its immediate value is as a reported personal account of the invasion’s effects on one family, not proof of every broader claim about child transfers.
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The Invasion Reached Kharkiv Region
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. In the account, the first explosions struck while Veronika was at relatives’ home in Borysivka, a small village close to the Russian border. Her mother was in Kharkiv, where Ukrainian troops were preparing defenses as Russian forces advanced.
In a televised address that morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced what he called a “special military operation” and said its aims included protecting people and “demilitarization and denazification.” Those were the Russian government’s stated justifications; the chapter notes that Russia had made unsupported claims about neo-Nazis governing Ukraine. The excerpt then follows Vlasova’s unsuccessful drive toward her daughter before ending partway through the account.
Meduza presents the chapter as part of a book examining children’s separation from families and efforts to bring them back. The account supplied here is a translated chapter excerpt, and its reporting should be distinguished from the broader title’s characterization of Russia’s actions.
““I remember it was 4:21 a.m. We were running to the pit where the water pump was, in my aunt’s yard.””
— Veronika Vlasova, recalling the first explosion
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Veronika’s Fate Is Not Given
The supplied excerpt does not establish how Veronika later left occupied territory, whether she was taken to Russia, how long she was separated from her mother, or whether they were reunited. Although the book’s description says Veronika left occupied territory with a relative and could not return to her mother, the excerpt provided here stops before that part of her story.
The material also does not provide documentation or case-by-case figures supporting the book’s broader account of children being illegally deported. Those claims are presented by the book and its publisher; the excerpt alone is not enough to assess the full evidence or the circumstances of every child mentioned.
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The Book Continues Her Story
The chapter is presented as a translated excerpt from the book released in October 2026. The next part of Veronika’s account would be needed to clarify how she left the area, what prevented her return to her mother, and what became of the other children in the household. The supplied material does not announce a new investigation, official response, or scheduled update.
For readers seeking the full reported account, the source is Meduza’s publication of the chapter. Any claims about Veronika’s later circumstances or the status of other children should be checked against that fuller reporting or other independently attributable sources.
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Key Questions
Who is Veronika Vlasova?
She is a 12-year-old girl from Pylna, in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, whose experience during the first hours of Russia’s full-scale invasion is recounted in a chapter published by Meduza.
What happened when the invasion began?
Veronika was staying with relatives in Borysivka when an explosion woke the household shortly after 4 a.m. on February 24, 2022. The family took shelter, and Veronika called her mother, Nina Vlasova.
Why could her mother not reach her?
Vlasova drove toward the area after learning that Russian troops had crossed the border. At a checkpoint in Kharkiv’s Saltivka district, Ukrainian soldiers did not allow people to leave because conditions were dangerous, so she turned back.
Does this excerpt say whether they were reunited?
No. The supplied excerpt ends before describing what happened next. Meduza’s introduction says Veronika left occupied territory with a relative and could not return to her mother, but it does not give the full outcome here.
What is “Stolen Youth”?
It is a book by journalists Nina Nazarova and Sviatoslav Khomenko, released by Meduza’s publishing house in October 2026 with support from the StraightForward Foundation. Meduza says it examines children separated from their families during the invasion and efforts to bring them back.
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