A woman from Odesa was detained in Astana at Russia's request

In Kazakhstan, Lyubov Rozhanska, a resident of Odesa, was detained at the request of the Russian Federation. Russian intelligence services lured her out under false pretenses, after which Russia initiated the process of her extradition.

This was reported by Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets. 

The woman turned to the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights for help. 

Dmytro Lubinets explained that Lyubov Rozhanska had traveled to Kazakhstan to pick up her minor grandson and bring him back to Ukraine. The child’s “new” relatives in Russia, in collaboration with the FSB, contacted her and deliberately persuaded her to travel from Ukraine to pick up the boy herself. The woman trusted them and traveled to Astana, unaware that preparations were already underway in Russia for her arrest. 

According to Dmytro Lubinets, handing the Ukrainian woman over to the control of Russian law enforcement agencies would pose a direct and serious threat to her personal safety, health, and the observance of her fundamental rights. The Ombudsman appealed to Kazakhstan’s Ombudsman, Artur Lastayev, urging him to prevent any extradition, surrender, or forced transfer of Lyubov Rozhanska to Russia. 

The Ombudsman also noted that he insists on verifying the conditions of the Ukrainian woman’s detention and the legal grounds for her deprivation of liberty, as well as ensuring full access to her for Ukrainian diplomatic and consular representatives and her attorney.

Dmytro Lubinets explained that the boy’s mother had taken him to Russia back in 2021. In 2022, she obtained Russian citizenship for herself and her child. Meanwhile, in March 2025, the Supreme Court of Ukraine determined that the child’s place of residence was Odesa.

Юлія Калабайда