Russian girl who drew anti-war pictures has left orphanage, children’s commissioner says

A Russian girl sent to an orphanage after drawing an anti-war sketch at school has been taken from the facility by her mother, the Kremlin children’s rights commissioner has said.

The Kremlin children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, said she had met the girl’s mother, who had long been separated from her husband and child. The girl had previously refused to live with her mother but changed her mind, so the mother took her home, Lvova-Belova said.

In a case that drew international outrage, the father of 13-year-old Maria Moskalyova was convicted of discrediting the Russian military and handed a two-year prison term, and his daughter was sent to the orphanage.

The father, Alexei Moskalyov, fled house arrest just before his sentencing hearing last week in the town of Yefremov south of Moscow. He was detained in Belarus two days later. His whereabouts are unclear, but a court in the Russian town of Yefremov is set to consider on Thursday a request by prosecutors to strip him of his parental rights.

Moskalyov, 54 was charged over social media posts criticising the war in Ukraine under a law adopted days after Russian troops invaded the neighbouring country in February 2022. He rejected the accusations.

According to his lawyer and supporters, Moskalyov’s troubles began after his daughter drew a picture at Yefremov school No 9 that depicted missiles flying over a Russian flag at a woman and child. The drawing also featured the words “No to war” and “Glory to Ukraine”.

The school called police, the girl was questioned, and Moskalyov was fined and eventually prosecuted and convicted over his social media posts.

The case underscored the scope of a Kremlin crackdown on dissent that has relentlessly targeted anyone who dared to criticise the war. Memorial, one of Russia’s oldest and most prominent rights groups and a winner of the 2022 Nobel peace prize, has declared Moskalyov a political prisoner.

The international criminal court is seeking to arrest Lvova-Belova along with Russian president Vladimir Putin for war crimes for allegedly deporting children from Ukraine.

She spoke to a UN meeting on Wednesday to argue that the children were moved for their safety and that Moscow was working with international organisations to return them to their families. Britain blocked the UN webcast of the informal security council meeting and her appearance sparked a walkout by diplomats from the US, Britain, Albania and Malta.