From Russian Occupied Camps to the Frontlines: A Ukrainian Orphan's Fight for Survival

Denys Kostev, 22, recounts how he was coerced into filming pro-Russian propaganda videos before successfully returning to Ukraine to take up arms for Kyiv. When the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Denys Kostev was 18 and residing in an orphanage in Kherson. Outraged by the aggression, he initially recorded social media videos condemning the invading Russian forces. However, his forced transfer to occupied Crimea abruptly altered his public rhetoric.

Now residing in Kyiv four years later, Kostev revealed to Al Jazeera that he acted as a willing poster child for wartime Russia solely as a mechanism for survival. Described as sprightly, eloquent, and photogenic, he previously participated in a theatre club at his orphanage in the southern Ukrainian city, a home he entered following his mother’s incarceration and death. This background facilitated his appearances in numerous videos for Russian television networks, undertaken because refusal carried severe risks of physical assault or imprisonment. “It was useful to play this pro-Russian role,” stated Kostev, who ultimately escaped Russia and is preparing to fight for Ukraine. “I wanted to live.”

Survival, however, proved exceptionally difficult. Tanks entered Kherson shortly after the outbreak of war, leading to the rounding up and interrogation of individuals suspected of pro-Ukrainian sympathies. Towards the end of 2022, while still at the orphanage, Kostev also attended a trade school. As hostilities intensified, he and other minors were relocated to the Luchisty summer camp in Russia-annexed Crimea. “Every morning, you wake up to the Russian anthem, and every Monday, there’s a celebratory hoisting of the Russian flag,” Kostev recalled regarding his time at the facility. Isolated from parental figures, the orphans found themselves vulnerable to surrounding influences, leading some to absorb pro-Russian narratives and even enlist to fight against Kyiv.

Ukraine continues efforts to repatriate allegedly abducted children and gather evidence against those responsible for their capture, with more than 2,600 children returned thus far. The summer camp administration did not respond to Al Jazeera's requests for comment. Kyiv reports that 84 Ukrainian orphans were housed there in 2023, part of nearly 4,000 children forcibly removed from orphanages in Russian-occupied regions, while Ukrainian rights groups estimate Moscow has relocated close to 20,000 Ukrainian minors for ideological indoctrination. The Kremlin acknowledges relocating children from war zones under the guise of rescue operations, while international rights groups and figures like Ivar Dale of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee condemn the practice as a sinister campaign of forced re-education and potential military recruitment through movements like Yunarmiya.

Following months in Crimean camps, Kostev was sent back to the occupied southern town of Henichesk in April 2023, discovering that Russian troops had withdrawn from Kherson months prior. After a video complaining about his poor dormitory conditions went viral, Russia-installed police subjected him to strip-searches, accused him of spying, and coerced him into further pro-Russian recordings. By early 2024, Kostev reconnected with his elder brother and grandmother in Germany, subsequently crossed into Poland to secure a new Ukrainian passport, and returned to Ukraine in April. Having completed military training, he is now beginning a military career as a drone pilot. “Wherever you are – home is better,” he reflected.