Ukrainian teenager taken by Russians considered suicide after solitary confinement
In October last year, Tetiana Rudenko was away from her home in southern Ukraine attending her mother’s funeral.
While she was out, armed Russian men in balaclavas arrived and ordered her 17-year-old son Vlad to go with them.
He at first refused but realised he had little choice.
“They had weapons with them. And I understood that everything could get bad. So I packed my things and went with them. Better not to mess around with them,” he told Sky News.
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It was the beginning of eight months in Russian hands – being in Russian-controlled territory camps whilst separated from his family, his home and everything he knew and trusted.
Tetiana was beside herself.
“He was not allowed to leave because of the tragedy that had just happened to us. When I found out he was already gone, I was very angry,” she said.
“I missed and worried about him, especially when there was no communication, when the connection was cut off. I was very concerned and missed my son a lot.”
Vlad’s new life was one of indoctrination by the Russians.
In photos he sent his mother from one camp after another, he was beginning to change. They showed him brandishing a gun and boxing. He had never played any sport before.
Vlad’s mother says his personality appeared to change while in the camps
But there were more worrying signs too, of injuries, a broken leg and broken finger.
There was mental and physical abuse, he says, and he was punished when he tried to leave.
“I felt bad because I didn’t like the place I was in, and I was interrogated and asked why I left, I said I want to come home to Ukraine,” he said.
‘Cash and a flat to become Russian’
The Russians put Vlad in solitary confinement, he says, where he considered killing himself.
“It was difficult. Five days of not talking to anyone.
Vlad was put in body armour and taken from his home
The teenager says he suffered physical and mental abuse
“And all you just see is someone bringing you food and you’re sitting and thinking what to do. You’re just isolated, you don’t hear anything, it’s like you’re deaf and I was thinking about suicide.”
The camps were in Russian-controlled Crimea and occupied Kherson region.
Vlad says the children are told there that Ukraine is run by Nazis, that their families did not expect them home, and they are offered incentives to aspire for Russian citizenship – including the promise of cash and apartments.
They are made to sing the Russian national anthem.
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The Russians claim they are saving children from war for humanitarian reasons.
They say they intend to return children who have been evacuated from the conflict zone to Ukraine when the conditions there are safe enough for them to do so.
Tetiana Bodak embarked on a dangerous mission to find her son
Children being “forcefully brought to Russia” is an issue that has been “totally overblown”, they say.
Back home, Tetiana asked an NGO for help. She and a handful of mothers plotted with ‘Save Ukraine’ on ways to bring back their children.
Mum interrogated after rescue mission
To rescue Vlad, Tetiana would risk a perilous journey from Ukraine into Poland, then Belarus, before flying to Moscow and overland through Russia into occupied Ukraine.
It spanned thousands of miles and took over a week, when finally, she was reunited with her son. She recalled the moment.
Vlad posted this picture of an open road as he finally headed home
Vlad is now enjoying time at home with brother Kostia
“Tears, tears. I was crying. I just hugged him and cried. I didn’t have any other emotions, just tears were running from my eyes,” she said.
But her ordeal wasn’t over: the Russians held Tetiana for six days and interrogated her for 10 hours, even placing a bag over her head, leaving her haunted by the ordeal.
“Every time I think about it, I just want to forget it, like a nightmare that never happened. I had lots of different thoughts.
“I worried that they could have taken me and I would have never returned, and I feared that I would never see any of my children again, not just Vlad,” she said.
Eventually, the Russians let both go, to make the long journey back to Ukraine.
They’re stuck in Kyiv now, home is too dangerous to go back to because of Russian shelling.
But Tetiana’s worries haven’t ended.
She said Vlad’s eight months in Russian camps have changed him and he can’t open up about what really happened.
“It pains me deeply that I’ve come all this way and he just pushes me away. I feel offended.
“But I understand him, as a mother I forgive him, because I don’t know the whole truth about what had happened to him. Maybe he is doing this because he wants to protect me,” she said.
Tetiana fears there is a lot her son isn’t telling her about his time in Russia
The NGO that helped Tetiana bring Vlad back says the others left behind are being turned into young Russians to help with the war on Ukraine.
Mykolo Kuleba, from Save Ukraine, told Sky News: “The worst is that these children will be growing with the hate of Ukraine.
“They will grow and receive Russian citizenship and go fight against Ukraine to understand that Ukraine is the enemy, and I’m very afraid that we will lose thousands, or hundreds of thousands of children, who Russia has brainwashed.”
Vlad may be back on Ukrainian soil, but the trauma inflicted by the Russians is still with him and his mother.
Across occupied Ukraine and deep into Russia, so many more like him have yet to come home and perhaps never will.
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
It’s a year since the US put Donald Trump back in the White House and I’ve spent this anniversary week in Florida and in Pennsylvania – two worlds in one country where I found two such contrasting snapshots of Trump’s America.
There are many ways to reflect on the successes and failures of the past year. Different issues matter to different people. But the thing which matters to all Americans is money.
The cost of living was a key factor in Donald Trump’s victory. He promised to make the country more affordable again. So: how’s he done?
On Wednesday, exactly a year since Americans went to the polls, the president was in Miami. He had picked this city and a particular crowd for his anniversary speech.
I was in the audience at the America Business Forum as he told wealthy entrepreneurs and investors how great life is now.
“One year ago we were a dead country, now we’re considered the hottest country in the world.” he told them to cheers. “Record high, record high, record high…”
The vibe was glitzy and wealthy. These days, these are his voters; his crowd.
“After just one year since that glorious election, I’m thrilled to say that America is back, America is back bigger, better, stronger than ever.” he said.
“We’ve done really well. I think it’s the best nine months, they say, of any president. And I really believe that if we can have a few more nine months like this, you’d be very happy. You’d be very satisfied.”
There was little question here that people are happy.
Liz Ciborowski says Trump has been good for the economy
“Trump’s been a good thing?” I asked one attendee, Liz Ciborowski.
“Yes. He has really pushed for a lot of issues that are really important for our economy,” she said.
“I’m an investor,” said another, Andrea.
“I’m a happy girl. I’m doing good,” she said with a laugh.
Andrea says she’s happy with how the economy is faring
A year on from his historic victory, the president was, notably, not with the grassroots folk in the places that propelled him back to the White House.
He had chosen to be among business leaders in Miami. Safe crowd, safe state, safe space.
But there was just one hint in his speech which seemed to acknowledge the reality that should be a concern for him.
“We have the greatest economy right now,” he said, adding: “A lot of people don’t see that.”
That is the crux of it: many people beyond the fortunate here don’t feel the “greatest economy” he talks about. And many of those people are in the places that delivered Trump his victory.
That’s the untold story of the past year.
A thousand miles to the north of Miami is another America – another world.
Steelton, Pennsylvania sits in one of Donald Trump’s heartlands. But it is not feeling the beat of his greatest economy. Not at all.
At the local steel union, I was invited to attend a meeting of a group of steel workers. It was an intimate glimpse into a hard, life-changing moment for the men.
The steel plant is shutting down and they were listening to their union representative explaining what happens next.
David Myers used to be employed at the steelworks
The conversation was punctuated with all the words no one wants to hear: laid off, severance, redundancy.
“For over 100 years, my family has been here working. And I was planning on possibly one day having my son join me, but I don’t know if that’s a possibility now,” former employee David Myers tells me.
“And…” he pauses. “Sorry I’m getting a little emotional about it. We’ve been supplying America with railroad tracks for over a century and a half, and it feels weird for it to be coming to an end.”
Cleveland Cliffs Steelton plant is closing because of weakening demand, according to its owners. Their stock price has since surged. Good news for the Miami crowd, probably. It is the irony between the two Americas.
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Steelton in Pennsylvania
Down at the shuttered plant, it’s empty, eerie and depressing. It is certainly not the image or the vision that Donald Trump imagined for his America.
Pennsylvania, remember, was key to propelling Trump back to the White House. In this swing state, they swung to his promises – factories reopened and life more affordable.
Up the road, conversations outside the town’s government-subsidised homes frame the challenges here so starkly.
“How much help does the community need?” I asked a man running the local food bank.
Elder Melvin Watts is a community organiser
“As much as they can get. I mean, help is a four-letter word but it has a big meaning. So help!” community organiser Elder Melvin Watts said.
I asked if he thought things were worse than a year ago.
“Yes sir. I believe they needed it then and they need it that much more now. You know it’s not hard to figure that out. The cost of living is high.”
Nearby, I met a woman called Sandra.
Sandra says it’s getting harder to make ends meet
“It’s been harder, and I’m a hard-working woman.” she told me. “I don’t get no food stamps, I don’t get none of that. You’ve got to take care of them bills, eat a little bit or don’t have the lights on. Then you have people like Mr Melvin, he’s been out here for years, serving the community.”
Inside Mr Melvin’s food bank, a moment then unfolded that cut to the heart of the need here.
A woman called Geraldine Santiago arrived, distressed, emotional and then overwhelmed by the boxes of food available to her.
“We’ll help you…” Mr Melvin said as she sobbed.
Geraldine’s welfare has been affected by the shutdown
Geraldine is one of 40 million Americans now not receiving the full nutritional assistance programme, known as SNAP, and usually provided by the federal government.
SNAP benefits have stopped because the government remains shut down amid political deadlock.
I watched Geraldine’s rollercoaster emotions spilling out – from desperation to gratitude at this moment of respite. She left with a car boot full of food.
A year on from his victory, Donald Trump continues to frame himself as the “America First” president and now with an economy transformed. But parts of America feel far, far away.
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