Ukrainian orphan forced to promote Russia in occupied Crimea now seeks to fight for Ukraine
Denys Kostev, an orphan from Kherson, was moved to a Russian-run summer camp in Crimea where he was compelled to appear in pro-Russian videos, and he has now escaped and is preparing to join Ukraine's defence.
Denys Kostev grew up in a Kherson orphanage after his mother died and was 18 when the full-scale invasion began. Russian forces relocated him and other children to the Luchisty summer camp in Crimea, where they woke to the Russian anthem, saw the flag raised weekly, and were pressured to produce pro-Russian video messages under threat of assault or imprisonment. Kostev describes the camp as isolated, with teenagers sometimes sneaking out for cigarettes and alcohol, only to face punishment and intimidation by a security chief who had switched sides.
After being moved to Henichesk and subjected to strip-searches and forced declarations of loyalty, he eventually escaped, contacted his brother and grandmother who had moved to Germany, and made his way back to Kyiv, where he now prepares to fight for Ukraine. His experience reflects Ukraine's claims that thousands of children have been abducted and re-educated in occupied areas, a practice condemned by international rights groups.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTBoth camps describe the teenager's forced involvement in Russian propaganda, but left-leaning coverage emphasizes his personal abuse and escape, while centrist coverage highlights his role as a propaganda poster child and systematic brainwashing.
LEFT
Frames the story as a personal victim narrative of coercion, abuse, and escape from Russian-run propaganda camps.
CENTER
Frames the story as an illustration of Moscow’s propaganda machine turning Ukrainian children into brain-washed, drafted symbols of Russian influence.
The left emphasises
- pressured to produce pro-Russian video messages under threat of assault or imprisonment
- subjected to strip-searches and forced declarations of loyalty
- escaped and returned to Kyiv to fight for Ukraine
