A woman from Kiev is being brought up on criminal charges after leaving her two young children, a boy and a girl alone in a locked apartment for nine days with only a few pieces of candy.
Only days earlier, the woman posted pictures of herself and the children on Facebook, saying they were her pride and joy. Reality proved different as it turned out. The woman, aged 20, left little Daniel and Anna (with whose father she does not maintain contact) in a locked apartment while she went to visit her boyfriend with whom she already has an infant son.
She did not return to the apartment until nine days later. At that time, the boy has already died from starvation. The girl was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Neighbors heard screams from the apartment, but the police arriving on the scene found the door locked and did not proceed further. It was apparent however that the children tried to force their way out as the linoleum covering on the entrance door was torn from the inside.
The woman is likely to be charged with criminal negligence, a crime that in the Ukraine carries a maximum sentence of eight years imprisonment. It is likely however that her sentence will be reduced as she is now caring for a small infant.
It is my opinion that the woman in question likely had a bender with her boyfriend and did not sober up until the ninth day. This story, from the capital of the Ukraine rather than from an economically depressed outlying region, illustrates how far the Ukraine has to go to join the ranks of developed nations, both in terms of the horror of the woman’s actions and the relative indifference and incompetence of the Ukrainian law enforcement and justice systems.
