Reputable Russian sources have been promoting a narrative regarding the rescue of a 10-year-old girl from Kostiantynivka, a city in the Donetsk region that Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed had been completely captured by Russian forces in early July, despite Ukraine’s assertion that the city remains under Ukrainian military control. However, the independent Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo has uncovered discrepancies in the story, revealing that the girl was actually far away from the front lines for at least a month before reports of her “rescue” emerged.
On July 8, Zvezda, the television channel of the Russian Defense Ministry, aired a report about a 10-year-old girl named Sofia who was reportedly hiding alone in a basement on the outskirts of Kostiantynivka. According to Zvezda, Sofia claimed that her mother had died, she had no memory of her father, and her grandparents, who were injured when a Ukrainian drone struck their home, had also passed away. The channel stated that Russian soldiers had been guarding the house where Sofia was hiding for almost a month, supplying her with food, and eventually evacuating her.
The story gained traction on various blogs, with posts about Sofia appearing on the Telegram channels of Sergei Zenin, Yevgeny Poddubny, Andrei Rudenko, and Alexander Kots – all echoing similar accounts, particularly highlighting that Sofia’s grandparents were killed by a Ukrainian drone. Subsequently, the narrative made its way to Channel One’s evening news and the state news agency TASS, which published a lengthy interview with Sofia filled with Russian propaganda themes.
Russia’s children’s ombudsman, Maria Lvova-Belova, revealed on July 9 that Sofia was temporarily staying in a children’s facility in the annexed Donetsk People’s Republic (“DNR”) while authorities sought her relatives. Investigations by Agentstvo indicated that the girl had most likely been placed in a social rehabilitation center for minors in the city of Shakhtarsk – under the control of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic since 2014 – and had been there since at least early June.
An article on June 5 published by the “DNR” Labor Ministry’s website detailed the celebration of Pushkin Day at the social center in Shakhtarsk, featuring photos of children from the center, including a girl in a light blue T-shirt bearing a striking resemblance to Sofia. A facial comparison tool utilized by Agentstvo determined a 100% similarity between them. The same girl appeared in photos posted by the center on VK on June 29, July 2, and July 3.
The social rehabilitation center in Shakhtarsk provides care for children facing challenging circumstances, but the circumstances surrounding the girl resembling Sofia and her arrival there remain unclear. It is uncertain whether her name is actually Sofia or if she previously resided in Kostiantynivka. Even if the evacuation was not entirely fabricated by Russian propaganda, the account was portrayed as a timely rescue from a “liberated” city, concealing the fact that the central figure had been living kilometers away from the front lines for at least a month.