‘I wanted to live’: A Ukrainian orphan’s journey through Russian occupation

Kyiv, Ukraine – When the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Denys Kostev was 18 and living in an orphanage in Kherson. Appalled by the war, he used to film social media videos decrying the invading Russian forces.But he was soon forcibly transferred to occupied Crimea, and his rhetoric suddenly went in the other direction.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4At least 10 people killed in Russian and Ukrainian attackslist 2 of 4Lavrov: Russia’s war in Ukraine will continue ‘through to the end’list 3 of 4Russia scales up strikes on Ukraine as largest steelmaker halts operationslist 4 of 4Russian strikes kill eight, injure dozens across Ukraineend of listNow in Kyiv four years later, Kostev told Al Jazeera he played the role of a poster child for wartime Russia just to survive.Sprightly, eloquent and photogenic, he used to attend a theatre club at his orphanage in the southern Ukrainian city, where he lived after his mother’s incarceration and death.The experience helped him “star” in numerous videos for Russian television networks – because refusing to be filmed meant risking physical assault or being threatened with jail, he said.“It was useful to play this pro-Ru...