The mother of a girl kidnapped near Kaluga told about her daughter's fear of being alone

Zlata L., who was kidnapped in the Kaluga region in 2023, is still recovering from the incident. This was told to "Izvestia" on January 15 by the girl's mother.

"It all affects, we will continue to continue to engage with psychologists, because it does not leave us," she explained.

According to the mother, Zlata is afraid to be alone and has a fear of the dark. The woman called the court's verdict against the attackers fair.

Earlier in the day, the Kaluga Regional Court found Irina and Dmitry Novikov guilty of kidnapping the girl and extorting money for her release.

Dmitry was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment in a strict regime penal colony, and his ex-wife - to 12 years' imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.

Eight-year-old Zlata L. from Kozelsk, Kaluga region, was kidnapped on November 29, 2023. The girl was returning home on the school bus, got off at her stop, and then disappeared. In the evening, her mother received an SMS with a demand to transfer 1.5 million rubles in cryptocurrency to a specified account.

Zlata was found two days later - frightened by the uproar, the attackers dropped the child off on a deserted highway in the Tula region and fled.

The kidnappers were caught by the morning of December 1, 2023 in the village of Kasyanovo, Kaluga region. They turned out to be representatives of the Novikov family. The suspects denied guilt and involvement in the kidnapping, claiming that they simply gave the girl a ride in a car.