Bring my girls home

I am the grandmother of two little girls who need your help to get back home. Their father (our son) tells their story below….

In August 2023, out of the blue, my two beautiful daughters were abducted by their mother following an annual vacation she took with them to Russia.

On the day that I was due to drive to the airport to pick up my girls, I received a message to say they had not caught their plane home. Their mum had abducted them and vowed to keep them in Russia where she is from.

The wonderful girls in question; Matilda (4yrs) and Mila (9yrs), could not understand or speak Russian. Mila was immediately enrolled into the local Russian primary school. Can you imagine her confusion? The teachers don’t speak any English and her education is going backwards.

Both girls are completely confused and want to return to their home in England and to the life they knew. Most of all, they need their daddy. I have always had a strong and loving bond with my daughters, deeply involved as a parent and concerned with their educational, physical and emotional wellbeing.

Since August 2023, I have had virtually no contact with my daughters, and I am extremely concerned they are now suffering mentally and emotionally. It is critical that we get the girls back to the UK and into the safe arms of their daddy and the support of their loving wider family.

This is where you all come in!

We are following The Hague Convention proceedings. The Hague Convention states that children should be returned to their country of residence; where they were born, lived, went to nursery and school, and have their GP.

The UK court's decision was that the girls should return to the UK. Unfortunately, the Russian court denied this. It should be the same for any country that signs up to the Hague Convention (which includes Russia). However, times are not normal.

We now have lawyers working on our behalf.

I travelled to Russia with the girls’ grandmother for the first court appearance and the case was denied.

Three months later we travelled back to Russia for the Court of Appeal hearing. Again, it was denied. All the evidence provided by me has been ignored by the Russian courts.

This process costs a lot of money. My family and I have paid over £60,000 already in legal fees, flights and hotels.

We are determined to do everything we can to bring the girls back to their home in the UK and we are preparing to appeal to the Supreme Court in Russia. This will cost at least another £30,000 and we are seeking your support to raise this in donations.

This £30,000 will contribute to legal fees, translation of documents and notarisation and flights to Russia. Rest assured the cheapest travel is always taken. The donations will not be used to pay any funds into Russian bank accounts or for money exchanged into rubles.

If you feel moved to support us in helping the girls return to the UK and continue to live fulfilling lives, please give whatever you can. As always, little or large, it will all help!

Thank you on behalf of my daughters.