Ukrainian Mother’s Appeal to Putin Pans Out: Granted Citizenship, Allowed to Stay in St. Petersburg
The family of Irina Barakat, who was injured by shelling in Syria and received Russian citizenship upon her appeal to Vladimir Putin, has set off for Russia. The children and husband of a Ukrainian-born woman, who worked as an interpreter for the Russian military have been waiting for this meeting for two years; during all of this time, she was being treated in a hospital in St. Petersburg.
Evgeny Poddubnyi, our military correspondent, reports on this from Syria.
It's only a mile from the Barakat family's house in Aleppo straight to the frontline. Although the city rarely gets shelled these days. In the hot summer of 2016, gas cylinders, mines and shells exploded in these streets every day. The rebels attacked kindergartens, schools, hospitals and these residential houses. By the way, our film crew lived nearby at that time.
Every morning began with explosions. To understand how bad it was here's footage from the fall of 2016. There were active military operations both in the city and on the outskirts. Irina was seriously injured by a shell that directly impacted on the apartment. At that moment, there were children in the room.
Raduan Barakat, Irina Barakat's son: "I remember that we were just sitting and talking, drinking coffee; we heard a whistling sound and then an explosion — the shell hit our neighbors first. We looked and noticed shell fragments; we realized it had just exploded".
Thanks to the officers at the Russian center for reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria, a wounded Ukrainian citizen (in Kiev, her call for help was ignored) was evacuated to St. Petersburg. In fact, Irina was saved. Her husband, Ahmed, and their children saw it as a miracle. But a long separation is a tough challenge as well. The children haven't seen their mother for two years. Tomorrow, two sons, a daughter, and a husband will embrace Irina. They received Russian visas, and their mother received Russian citizenship upon her appeal to Vladimir Putin during the "Direct Line". Irina's husband said that his wife was joking, saying "we need to call Putin"; who knew that she wasn't joking.
Ahmed Barakat, Irina Barakat's husband: "My wife was teasing me a lot, saying "you'll see how I'll talk with Putin, the President of Russia", but she said it as a joke. "Everything will work out, you'll see" those were her words".
Five-year-old Angelika came to school to say goodbye. The teachers collected gifts. Here is a warm hat, and it doesn't matter that it's summer in Russia — it will change soon. The children will study in St. Petersburg. They are perfectly fluent in the Russian language. If they need to adjust themselves to something, then it'll certainly be the weather.
Ahmed Barakat: "We have high hopes for the future. We can't wait to reunite with Irina. The children have been patient for two years. Especially, the youngest one".
The entire community is here to see them off: Russian women, Syrian men, neighbors, and friends are helping them carry their bags. No more commentary is needed:
"We wanted her to recover and now — it's a miracle. A miracle! A true story with a happy ending; May God help to bring such a happy ending to everyone who is in some trouble".
They're off to Russia's Khmeimim Air Base by plane and then to St. Petersburg. Life without war is ahead. And this is considered a real miracle here, in Aleppo.
Evgeny Poddubny, Aleksandr Bushin, Stanislav Elovsky, Vesti from Aleppo, Syria