A girl abducted by her father from St. Petersburg was found in Belarus after five years of searching.

A man who abducted his own daughter after a divorce five years ago was detained at Minsk airport. A 42—year-old from St. Petersburg tried to fly with the girl to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) using fake passports, but he was stopped at border control. This was reported on May 23 by a source of Izvestia.

The incident occurred back in September 2020. After the divorce hearing, the father took the child and disappeared. Since then, he has not been in touch, and for a long time it was not known if the girl was alive. In 2021, a man was deprived of parental rights and a case was opened for the murder of a minor — this is a standard measure in such abductions.

In April 2025, the Petersburger was put on the international wanted list. It was established that he was hiding in Novorossiysk, and then left for Belarus, planning to fly to the UAE via Minsk.

"During border control at Minsk-1 airport, a man and a girl were found to have fake passports," the source told Izvestia.

The kidnapper was detained. The issue of its transfer to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia is currently being resolved. The girl, who is now nine years old, will be returned to her mother. The woman has already flown to St. Petersburg with her daughter from Minsk. The girl's mother admitted that she had "been through hell" for six years and thanked the investigators, stressing that without their efforts, the child's return would have been impossible.

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In Moscow on April 24, a woman informed law enforcement agencies about the disappearance of her seven-year-old son. The Moscow Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee (IC) of Russia opened a criminal case, and soon the child was found, his life and health were not in danger.