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Ukrainian citizen Liubov Rozhanska was detained at Astana airport after arriving from Istanbul to collect her grandson, according to Meduza’s report citing her lawyers. Russia sought her detention through the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and a court hearing in Kazakhstan was expected within three days of the report. Her lawyers dispute the allegation and say the case was prepared before the planned handover.
Ukrainian citizen Liubov Rozhanska was detained at Astana airport after arriving from Istanbul to collect her grandson, and is being held in a pretrial detention center following a Russian request made through the Collective Security Treaty Organization, according to her lawyers, as reported by Meduza. A Kazakhstan court hearing was expected within three days of the report; Rozhanska could face extradition to Russia, where she is under investigation over an alleged attempted child abduction.
Lawyer Alexey Pryanishnikov told DW that Rozhanska had traveled to Kazakhstan because relatives of her daughter’s second husband offered in the summer of 2026 to hand over the boy there. The child was expected to be brought from Russia. Rozhanska was arrested after arriving from Istanbul, and her lawyers said she remained in pretrial detention.
The boy was born in 2018 during the first marriage of Rozhanska’s daughter, Alla Andreyeva. In 2021, Andreyeva took him from Odesa to Russia’s Kaliningrad region to live with her second husband. In 2022, she renounced Ukrainian citizenship for herself and her son, and both became Russian citizens, according to Meduza’s account.
In 2025, Ukraine’s Supreme Court ruled in a case brought by the boy’s father that the child should live in Odesa. The competing legal and citizenship histories form the backdrop to the planned handover and Russia’s investigation. Meduza reported that Kaliningrad’s Tsentralny District Court had ordered Rozhanska held in custody on August 27, before her detention in Kazakhstan.
A Cross-Border Custody Dispute
Rozhanska’s detention puts a family custody dispute across Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan into an extradition process. The immediate issue is whether Kazakhstan will keep her in custody and consider Russia’s request, while the underlying dispute concerns where the child should live and who has authority to arrange his transfer.
The case also involves separate legal systems and competing claims about the child’s status. Ukraine’s Supreme Court ruling says he should live with his father in Odesa, while the child and his mother became Russian citizens in 2022. Those facts do not, by themselves, establish how Kazakhstan will decide the detention or any extradition request. The hearing could clarify the immediate legal steps, but the report does not describe a final ruling.
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How the Child’s Placement Changed
The dispute developed over several years. Andreyeva moved her son from Odesa to the Kaliningrad region in 2021; a year later, both became Russian citizens after renouncing their Ukrainian citizenship. The child’s father then filed a lawsuit in Ukraine, leading to the Supreme Court’s 2025 decision that the boy should reside in Odesa.
According to Pryanishnikov, relatives connected to Andreyeva’s second husband contacted Rozhanska in the summer of 2026 and offered to arrange the child’s handover in Kazakhstan. Her lawyers say Russian authorities were already preparing to seek her arrest and extradition while those discussions were taking place. Meduza reported that the investigation into an alleged attempted abduction began in 2023.
“Rozhanska had flown to Kazakhstan to pick up her grandson, who was to be brought there from Russia.”
— Lawyer Alexey Pryanishnikov, as quoted by Meduza
The Extradition Decision Is Pending
It was not clear from the report whether Kazakhstan’s court had held the expected hearing, what decision it made, or how long Rozhanska might remain in custody. The report also does not establish whether Kazakhstan has formally begun extradition proceedings or when any decision on Russia’s request could be made.
Russia is investigating Rozhanska over an alleged attempted abduction; the report provides no court finding that she committed a crime. Her lawyers say the authorities had prepared the case before the proposed handover and accused the FSB of setting her up. Those are the lawyers’ allegations, not independently established findings in the available account.
The report does not explain what arrangements, if any, have been made for the boy since the proposed transfer, or how the Ukrainian court ruling will be considered in any proceedings in Kazakhstan or Russia. It also does not give a response from Russian or Kazakh authorities to the lawyers’ account.
Kazakhstan’s Court Hearing
The next reported milestone is the Kazakhstan court hearing, which Meduza said was expected within three days of its October 2 report. The hearing was expected to address Rozhanska’s detention; the report did not say that an extradition decision would be made at the same time.
Further information is needed on the court’s ruling, the status and terms of Russia’s request, and whether Kazakhstan will consider extradition. Updates from the court, Rozhanska’s lawyers and relevant authorities would help establish the next legal steps and the child’s current arrangements.
Key Questions
Who is Liubov Rozhanska?
Liubov Rozhanska is a Ukrainian citizen and the grandmother of a boy whose residence is disputed. She was detained at Astana airport after arriving from Istanbul, according to Meduza.
Why did she travel to Kazakhstan?
Her lawyer, Alexey Pryanishnikov, said she traveled to collect her grandson after relatives of her daughter’s second husband offered to hand the child over in Kazakhstan. The boy was expected to come from Russia.
What is Russia investigating?
Russia is investigating Rozhanska over an alleged attempted child abduction. The report does not establish that she committed the alleged offense, and her lawyers dispute the circumstances of the case.
What happens next?
A Kazakhstan court hearing was expected within three days of the October 2 report. The report did not provide the hearing’s outcome or confirm when Kazakhstan might decide whether to extradite her.
Source: rss
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