The story of the boy who was kidnapped in the US and survived the siege in Mariupol but ended up in Russia

For weeks, Cesar Quintana suffered thinking what would become of his two-year-old son, who had been trapped in Mariupol, the Ukrainian city besieged by the Russians.

Fortunately, little Alexander managed to date his mother.

But now they are in Russia and Quintana, who has custody of the child in the United States, is still unable to meet with him.

Quintana, an American of Mexican descent, has been trying to bring the boy back to California, where he lives, since his wife took him to Ukraine without his authorization in 2020. He was managing the delivery of the child in Ukrainian courts when Russia invaded Ukraine and communications were cut off.

Last month, he finally learned that, unlike millions of Ukrainians who escaped to Poland or Moldova, Alexander's Ukrainian family had managed to leave Mariupol and cross the nearest border crossing to that city, which leads to Russia.

Russia does not have agreements with the United States regarding disputes over children taken from one country by one parent without the consent of the other. Ukraine does, and Quintana is confident that Ukrainian courts will prosecute the case, rule in its favor and ask the Russians to abide by that decision. He indicated that he is still trying to convince the mother, Antonina Aslanova, an American-Ukrainian, to return to California on her own accord.

“I won't give up. My son is not going to be raised in Russia,” Quintana said.

Aslanova did not respond to a message sent to her via WhatsApp.

Abductions of children by a father who takes him out of a country are complex and activists say that children rarely return to their country of origin soon. In 2015, there were more than 2,000 complaints of international abductions under international treaties designed to resolve these disputes and only 45% resulted in the child's return to their country, according to a report by the Hague Conference on Private International Law.

Many countries signed that treaty, but it does not apply between the United States and Russia, which makes it difficult to surrender minors, according to Melissa Kucinski, a Washington lawyer specializing in these cases.

“Now that the child is in Russia, I suspect that the surrender of custody to the father ordered by a California court does not have much value,” Kucinski said.

Quintana, 35, has been fighting for more than a year to recover her son under that treaty, since a Californian court ruled that the mother should hand him over. He traveled to Ukraine, hired a lawyer and said that Aslanova agreed to return with the boy to California. But Aslanova's mother objected and filed a complaint with the police, which prevented the boy from leaving.

The war, in turn, left the process in the air. Complicating matters, the US embassy in Kiev is closed, although the US State Department said it still offers consular services to Americans.

In Russia, on the other hand, the possibilities of assisting US citizens are “very limited”, according to an official of the State Department.

The war made Quintana desperate. He sent money to Aslanova when the invasion began, but he could no longer contact her when communications with Mariupol were cut off.

Unable to contact her son, Quintana asked the Ukrainian authorities for permission to travel to that country. He planned to buy a ticket to Europe, but the State Department told him that Aslanova and her family had gone to Russia.

Quintana said she spoke to Aslanova after she left Mariupol and that she claimed she was considering going back to California, but was afraid of being accused of kidnapping. She was also frightened by the process initiated for driving while intoxicated, which led to Quintana being granted custody of the child.

“He's afraid he might end up in jail,” Quintana said. “Why does my son have to suffer for her? ”.

Noelle Hunter, co-founder of the iStand Parent Network, said that voluntary agreements are generally the best way out in these cases. He added that Quintana asked prosecutors to withdraw the kidnapping complaint if Aslanova returned, but that they did not assure that they would do so. State Department officials offered to speed up the paperwork if Aslanova leaves Russia and takes the child to another country, according to Hunter.

“We can't sit idly by,” he added. “You have to be ready.”

The California Orange County prosecutor's office declined to discuss the issue.

Quintana and Aslanova were divorcing when she was arrested for drunk driving, according to a letter sent by Orange County prosecutors to Ukrainian authorities.

Quintana was given custody of the child and Aslanova was allowed to visit him in December 2020. One day, while Quintana was sleeping, Aslanova left with the child and took a plane to Turkey, then another to Ukraine, according to Quintana.

(With information from AP/by Amy Taxin)

KEEP READING: