Trip to see her grandson ended with her arrest: Russia demands that Kazakhstan extradite the Ukrainian woman
The Ombudsperson warns of a possible trap and urges authorities not to allow extradition
A Ukrainian citizen, Lyubov Rozhanska, who arrived in Kazakhstan to pick up her minor grandson and return him home, was detained in Astana at the request of the Russian side. According to available information, Russia is seeking her extradition in a criminal case opened against the woman back in 2023.
After the detention, Rozhanska turned to the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Dmytro Lubinets. He believes the Ukrainian woman may have been deliberately lured to Kazakhstan and has spoken of possible involvement by Russian security services.
According to Lubinets, the boy’s relatives who are in Russia contacted the grandmother and suggested she come herself to collect her grandson. A circulated video allegedly showing the child boarding a plane to Kazakhstan was called by the ombudsman a staged provocation intended to prompt the woman to travel. After arriving in Astana, she was detained.
The circumstances of the grandson’s stay abroad, according to the Ukrainian side, are as follows:
- In 2021 the mother took the boy to Russia.
- In 2022 both the mother and the child obtained Russian citizenship.
- In March 2025 the Supreme Court of Ukraine determined the boy’s place of residence to be Odesa.
It was to return the minor to Ukraine, as Lubinets explained, that the grandmother set off to get him.
The Ukrainian commissioner appealed to the Ombudsman of Kazakhstan, Artur Lastaev, calling on him to prevent the extradition or forcible transfer of Lyubov Rozhanska to Russia. In his appeal he also requested:
- To check the conditions in which the woman is being held in custody.
- To clarify the legal grounds for her detention.
- To ensure access to her by Ukrainian diplomatic and consular representatives and a lawyer.
Dmytro Lubinets urged relatives of Ukrainian children who are in Russia or in temporarily occupied territories not to organize their return on their own. The Ombudsman’s Office recommends seeking assistance from the state authorities of Ukraine.
For requests regarding the return of Ukrainian children, the Ombudsman’s Office hotline is 1678.
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