Oleksandra prepares to go alone, in the middle of the war, into enemy territory: her grandson has been taken by the Russians behind the front line. The journalists from “Special Envoy” accompanied this Ukrainian grandmother to the station who is about to leave her village near Kharkiv for the first time… for a long journey.
The story of 15-year-old Dima and his grandmother begins on February 24, 2022, when the Russians enter Ukraine. Their village near Kharkiv is occupied. Until the end of the summer, the teenager stays at home, with his grandmother who has been raising him since birth (his parents died in an accident). But one day, Russian soldiers knock on their door.
“It was September 1st, it was back to schoolrecalls Oleksandra, 87. The Russians demanded that all the children go back to school. So I sent Dima back to boarding school. But a week later, the Ukrainian soldiers arrived, and the Russian soldiers fled. And they took Dima with them.” His grandson found himself caught up in the Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Oleksandra rushes to boarding school, and finds the doors closed. She barely manages to find out that the Russian soldiers put the children in cars – before the establishment was bombed by their army. About twenty of these young Ukrainians would now be behind the front line… only four hours away. But “there are fights, it’s impossible to cross the line“, explains Oleksandra.
three days of travel
Three months later, the old lady is about to make a long trip – and a big detour – to get her grandson back. It is the town hall of his village that has developed the route: he will have to go through Poland, Lithuania and then Latvia before entering Russia. The outward journey alone will take three days.
At the Kharkiv bus station, on the bus that will take her to Warsaw, the “Special Envoy” team finds Oleksandra both tense (it’s the first time she’s left her village) and “happy to make this trip, because[elle va] finally bring back [s]one grandson“.
Eight days later, the old lady is back. Journalists were unable to see her again, as she was exhausted. But they learned that she had indeed brought her grandson back, “what[elle a] more precious“, at home.
Excerpt from a report broadcast in “Special Envoy” on February 16, 2023.
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