“We must speak the truth out loud”: the story of Illia Matviienko, the first boy returned from occupation, was presented at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg
Recently, the story of Illia Matviienko was presented in Strasbourg - the first Ukrainian child successfully returned after being forcibly taken by russians to occupied territories. His testimony is preserved in the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. The Museum’s archive is the world’s largest collection of stories from civilians affected by russia’s war against Ukraine. To date, more than 145,000 stories have been collected, around 12,500 of them from Mariupol residents.
Illia was 9 years old when his mother was killed during shelling in 2022, while he himself suffered a severe leg injury. At a hospital in occupied Donetsk, the boy could not even walk. Back in Ukraine, Illia received treatment as well as rehabilitation from the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. This helped him take his first confident steps.
Since the start of the full-scale war, russians have deported at least 19,500 Ukrainian children, including 1,300 from Mariupol alone. Illia Matviienko is one of those children. Now his story has been heard in Europe - during the special event “The European Municipal Dimension of Ensuring Accountability: the Mariupol Justice Initiative,” whose systemic partner is the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. The event took place during the 50th session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.
At the center of discussions was the Mariupol Justice initiative, which documents crimes and promotes efforts to hold russia accountable. The event marked the first systematic presentation of the issue of Mariupol as part of the European agenda - not only as a tragedy, but as a case for international legal assessment.
“We must speak the truth out loud! We are here to tell the truth about the tragedy of Mariupol through documenting crimes. I hope that within the Congress of the Council of Europe a coalition of justice for Ukraine will emerge, capable of holding the russian federation accountable for crimes committed against the Ukrainian people,” said Vadym Boichenko, Mayor of Mariupol and Head of the Mariupol Military Administration.
One of the key focuses of the event was human stories - testimonies of those who survived the siege of Mariupol. Illia Matviienko speaks about what he endured not only as personal pain, but as a necessity to be heard and achieve justice.
“There are many reasons why it is important to speak about this. Through our stories, we push Europe not to forget that we exist. That there is this enormous problem called russia and everything it is doing to Ukraine. I dream of victory and for russia to be punished,” says Illia Matviienko.
