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A chapter from Meduza’s October book “Stolen Youth” tells the story of Veronika, a 12-year-old from Ukraine’s Kharkiv region who was separated from her mother after Russia’s full-scale invasion began. The account describes the family’s first hours under attack and the danger that kept Veronika’s mother from reaching her; the supplied excerpt does not explain how the girl later left occupied territory or where she is now.
Meduza has published a chapter from a new book about Ukrainian children separated from their families during Russia’s invasion, telling how 12-year-old Veronika Vlasova was stranded away from her mother when Russian forces attacked the Kharkiv region on February 24, 2022. The account describes the opening hours of the invasion and the danger that prevented her mother, Nina, from reaching her in a village near the Russian border.
The chapter, titled “Veronika Takes Shelter in a Cellar,” follows the family as the invasion began. Veronika had gone from her home in Pylna to stay with her aunt Tetiana Melnyk and other relatives in nearby Borysivka. Shortly after 4 a.m., an explosion woke the household. Veronika later recalled taking shelter in a pit in the yard, where a water pump was located, as her uncle hurried the children outside and told them to dress warmly.
From the shelter, Veronika called her mother. “Mom, they’re shooting here!” she shouted, according to the chapter. Nina Vlasova said she recognized the sound of mortar fire from her earlier military service. She contacted people nearby and former military colleagues to learn what was happening, then drove toward her daughter from Kharkiv.
By about 7:30 a.m., Nina had reached Saltivka, a district in northeastern Kharkiv. Ukrainian soldiers at a checkpoint would not let civilians leave the city because of the danger, so she turned back. The excerpt says Russian troops had crossed the border and were advancing toward Kharkiv. It presents the opening of Veronika’s story; the supplied material does not provide the later details of her separation, journey out of occupied territory or eventual reunification.
How Separation Begins at the Border
The account gives a family-level view of how the invasion disrupted children’s lives from its first hours. Veronika was not at home when the attack began; she was with relatives in a border village, while her mother was in Kharkiv and could not safely reach her. That separation happened amid rapidly changing military conditions, not through a planned family move.
The chapter is part of a wider book focused on children taken or moved from Ukrainian territories and the efforts to get them back. The publisher says the authors followed cases involving thousands of children. The excerpt does not independently establish a total or describe the circumstances of each case, but it shows why individual accounts matter: they document how distance, danger and occupation can leave families unable to reunite quickly.
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The Book Behind Veronika’s Story
Meduza’s publishing house released Stolen Youth: How Russia Kidnaps Ukrainian Children — And How Ukrainians Get Them Back in October 2026. The book was written by Russian journalist Nina Nazarova and Ukrainian journalist Sviatoslav Khomenko, with support from the StraightForward Foundation. According to Meduza, the authors began tracking the movement of children from Ukrainian territories into Russia after the full-scale invasion began, and conversations with separated families helped shape the project.
The report says the book describes four ways children were illegally deported. That characterization is the book’s framing as reported by Meduza; the supplied excerpt does not detail those four routes or provide documentation for each. Veronika’s chapter begins on the morning Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced what the Kremlin called a “special military operation”; explosions were reported in Ukrainian cities soon afterward. The chapter places the family’s experience in that first wave of attacks near Kharkiv.
““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
Veronika’s Later Journey Is Not Included
The supplied excerpt stops during the account of the invasion’s opening. It does not say when Veronika left Borysivka, how she became unable to return to her mother, what route she took out of occupied territory, or whether and when they reunited. Her current location and circumstances are also not established in the provided material.
Meduza’s introduction says Veronika left occupied territory with a relative and could not return to her mother, but it does not give further details in the excerpt provided. The publisher’s description refers to thousands of children and to illegal deportations; the material here does not supply a specific total, case-by-case evidence, or a response from Russian authorities.
The Full Chapter Adds Her Path
The published excerpt is presented as a translation of a full chapter from Stolen Youth. The next information needed to complete Veronika’s story is what happened after Nina turned back from the checkpoint: how the family made decisions under occupation, how Veronika eventually left, and what prevented her return to her mother.
Meduza’s introduction says the book documents children’s separation and efforts by Ukrainians to bring them back, but the source material does not identify a forthcoming investigation, official process or date for further updates. Any account of Veronika’s later outcome should be based on the chapter’s remaining reporting or additional information from the family and publisher.
Key Questions
What did Meduza publish?
Meduza published an excerpt from Stolen Youth, a book about Ukrainian children separated from their families during the invasion. The chapter follows Veronika Vlasova’s experience as the attack began.
Where was Veronika when the invasion began?
The 12-year-old was staying with her aunt and other relatives in Borysivka, a village near the Russian border in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. She had gone there from her home in Pylna.
Why could her mother not reach her?
Nina Vlasova drove toward her daughter but reached a Ukrainian checkpoint in Kharkiv where soldiers would not let civilians leave because of the danger. She turned back.
Does the excerpt say whether Veronika reunited with her mother?
No. Meduza’s introduction says Veronika left occupied territory with a relative and was unable to return to her mother, but the supplied chapter excerpt does not describe what happened afterward or establish whether they later reunited.
Who wrote the book?
Meduza says the book was written by Russian journalist Nina Nazarova and Ukrainian journalist Sviatoslav Khomenko, with support from the StraightForward Foundation.
Source: rss
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