meantime her 18yearold biological daughter rada was at a boxing competition near kharkiv another frontline cityshe told herself every day that the war would end fast it was the 21st century after all instead it edged closerlopatkina took in two refugee families from a city near mariupol who confirmed her worst fears one woman said her husband was killed in front of her and she had to step over his corpselopatkina hounded ukrainian officials the local governor social services anybody who could evacuate her children in calls timofey told his mother he was looking after his younger siblings she was proud and slightly reassuredthen on march 1 their connection was lost she thought her kids were going to be evacuated to zaporizhzhia so she and her husband went there with books of fairy tales and other treats but two days after they arrived the state ordered zaporizhzhia itself to be evacuated insteadlopatkina had to make yet another painful decision should she wait for an evacuation from mariupol that might never happen or should she go to collect her oldest daughter before losing contact with her toolets go she told her husband denyslopatkina escaped with rada to france in one final plea she wrote to the governor of donetsk dont forget my orphanswhen she received the message from timofey accusing her of deserting them she was stung but not surprisedi cant even imagine she said her voice breaking as she started to cry if i were him i would have reacted the same way and maybe even worselopatkina continued to push russian and ukrainian officials incessantly she sent them photocopies of ukrainian documents proving her guardianship she told them some of the children were sick and worried that nobody had even asked about their medicationthe children were paraded on russian television and told she didnt love them it broke her heartevery day they turned the children against us she said your parents abandoned you we will transfer you to the best families here you will have a better lifeshe got a job in a garment factory in france and bought furniture clothes and toys for children who might or might not return she chose their bedrooms in her small duplex in the northwest in loue she planned celebrations for missed birthdaysthen much to her dismay she found out that other ukrainian orphans who were with her children had been issued new identity documents for the dpr the donetsk authorities dropped a bombshell she could have her children back if she came through russia to donetsk to get them in personlopatkina feared a trap if she went to russia she might never be allowed to leavei will sue you she threatened donetsk officials in an email on may 18 you took my kids that is a crimefor some russian families taking in ukrainian orphans isnt a crime its a giftone professional foster mother was called in by the moscow social services to come and look at the eastern ukrainian kids who