FREED

Russian Girl Sent to Orphanage After Making Anti-War Picture Released to Mom

Maria Moskaleva had spent over a month at the facility.

The Russian schoolgirl sent to an orphanage after making an anti-war drawing in a school art class has been released from the facility into the care of her mother, the Kremlin’s children’s rights commissioner said Wednesday. Masha Moskaleva, now 13, came to the attention of authorities in April 2022 after her school principal contacted the police over the sketch featuring a Ukrainian flag and the phrase “no to war.” Her father, Alexei Moskalev, was later convicted of discrediting the Russian army in social media posts, and Masha was sent to the orphanage during his trial. Maria Lvova-Belova, the Kremlin’s children’s rights ombudsperson, says Masha had previously refused to live with her mom but has now changed her mind and left the orphanage with her. Last week, Alexei Moskalev was detained in Belarus after fleeing house arrest in the hours before he was handed a two-year sentence over his social posts, which he claimed to have never made. His whereabouts are currently unknown.