Escape from hospital to find relatives in occupied territories: the story of a wounded teenager from Donetsk
14-year-old Rostyslav, a native of Donetsk Oblast, escaped from a hospital in Dnipro hoping to return to his relatives, who are in the occupied territories.
The boy was taken into custody by local police after the teenager got lost in the city, and a concerned resident of Dnipro reported it, the patrol police told.
The boy and his family lived in one of the villages of the Lyman community in the Donetsk Oblast. There he came under Russian fire, and the boy was hit in the shoulder by a fragment of a shell.
The Ukrainian military rescued the boy and took him to Kramatorsk Hospital, where he received medical treatment.
However, later it turned out that the wound was severe, and Rostyslav decided to transfer to the Dnipro for treatment.
He found himself in the city alone, without things, connections, or relatives, as they had stayed in the temporarily occupied territories.
After spending a week in the hospital, the 14-year-old decided to run away and go home alone – to his mother, brothers, and sisters.
After that, he reached the patrol. The boy was despondent, so the patrol bought him food and handed it to the juvenile protection staff [who were looking after him].
The boy promised that he would not run away from the hospital again. The police took care of him and recruited volunteers who helped him to buy clothes and find a phone.
"Relevant services are helping him find a foster family. However, we believe that there will definitely be a day when he can return home to his relatives," the police said.
