"Now they are citizens of the Russian Federation." What the father who took the Belarusian woman's children to Luhansk says

Photo: Pavel Rusak / Tochka.by

Recently, "Tochka" told the story of Volha Shabaeva, who for several months has been fighting for her children. Her Ukrainian ex-husband, after their divorce, took their sons to Luhansk, changed their citizenship, and does not intend to return them to their mother. A few days after the publication, Volha's ex-husband contacted the editorial office to tell his version of events.

Aliaksei Shabaev explained why he took the children and how he intends to act next.

"It wasn't like that"

The man immediately says that his ex-wife's appeal to the media deeply affected him, "because all of it is untrue." He even asks if she paid for the previous material to tarnish his name.

Aliaksei Shabaev has many grievances against Volha. He immediately stated that he did not want to air "this dirt," but for several days he sent photos and videos that were supposed to show what his ex-wife was like.

The man talks a lot and in detail about their family life and the reasons for their breakup. He says there were even infidelities on her part, which led to the divorce.

And yet, Aliaksei assures that he tried to mend relations with his wife. And for another year after the divorce proceedings began, they lived together.

"But for some reason, Volha snapped and kicked me out. Moreover, she kicked me out by filing a police report about a domestic conflict. But I never laid a finger on her," he says.

"Only I took care of the children"

In early March 2025, the couple finally separated. According to the man, their sons lived with him from that moment on. He claims that even then the boys were reluctant to communicate with their mother.

"Volha was always traveling. She was a weekend mom. Yes, she participated in their upbringing when she came, but I have actually been with the children all their lives. Polyclinics, schools, even trips to the hairdresser – it was all me," Aliaksei states.

Павялічыць

Photo provided by the subject of the material

At that time, there were no disputes between the parents about the sons' place of residence. But, according to the interlocutor, his ex-wife constantly threatened him.

"She said that if I claimed jointly acquired property, she would deport me," the man says.

How exactly his ex-wife could do this, Aliaksei cannot answer. But he notes that after her statement to the police, he began to understand that anything was possible.

Money Matters

In the version presented by his ex-wife, the topic of money affected the man the most – he spent a very long time refuting her words.

"She says I didn't work. But that's not true. All records are in my employment book (I won't provide it, just for information). Then I started doing business with my wife – for four years we had a joint venture. All jointly acquired assets, including a highly profitable business, remained with her. And she says there that I'm claiming some money," Aliaksei indignantly states.

He also denies accusations of gambling addiction. He says he worked as an administrator of a gaming project. It was just his salary. And apart from that, no bets or computer games.

He was also affected by Volha's story about their money dispute. According to Aliaksei, he did not claim double compensation, but wanted to get what was rightfully his.

"We had a dispute over a car. We bought an expensive Mazda from the showroom, it cost about $70,000. And essentially I paid the entire lease for it myself," the interlocutor assures.

As the man claims, he transferred an apartment worth $130,000 to his ex-wife – they stipulated this in their marriage contract. Because at that time, it was assumed that the children would live with her.

According to him, they verbally discussed and decided with his ex-wife that in case of divorce, she would compensate him $20,000 for the housing. The car was not included in the marriage contract.

"I received $17,000 from her. But not for the car – that's what she promised me specifically for the apartment. We concluded a purely gentleman's agreement. And I decided to demand money for the car through court when I filed for property division, having already left with the children. I gave a lot for the car and I believe I acted correctly," Aliaksei says.

Let us remind you, the court in this claim ruled that no additional compensation or share of the property was due to the man.

Moving to Luhansk

After separating from his wife, the man rented an apartment in Novaya Baravaya for some time.

"And, by the way, I paid for it myself, out of the $17,000 that Volha paid me. And she says, supposedly my mother rented housing for me. Then, when the children started wanting to visit their mother less often (from their father. — Tochka.by), new threats about deportation poured in," Aliaksei continues.

Against this backdrop, the man finally decided that he would return to Luhansk and acquire Russian citizenship there. But before that, he was going to go to the sea with the children.

"She [Volha] claims that I allegedly took them without her consent. But she herself gave me written permission for the children to travel abroad. And generally, she was perfectly aware that I intended for the sons to live with me. And she was even always not against it," Aliaksei says.

Павялічыць

Correspondence about the children's trip. Screenshot provided by Volha Shabaeva

Volha, however, insists: she gave permission to take the children on vacation, not even suspecting what her husband would do next. We try to clarify this point with the ex-husband once more.

— Yes, we were going to the sea first. She saw us off.

— Did you warn the mother that you would go to Luhansk and that you were thinking about changing citizenship?

— No, we were going to Luhansk first. And she knew I was going to get citizenship. That was my intention. But I said that after that, the children and I would go to the sea.

— And was there any talk about you planning to give Russian citizenship to the children as well?

— There was talk about the children living with me.

— In Luhansk?

— Well, in principle. What's the difference? It's just that the situation had reached a point where I was forced to leave because I was strictly threatened with deportation. There was no direct talk about Luhansk, but it was, in essence, indirect, because Volha knew perfectly well that I would live there.

At the same time, Aliaksei assures that his ex-wife also intended to change the children's citizenship – to Romanian. And she even collected the necessary documents and paid money. And all without the father's knowledge.

And the man also insists that at the time of leaving Belarus, he wasn't even thinking of taking the children for himself. He says: they just wanted to go to the sea.

"The children and I talked. They said unequivocally: we want to stay with you. That's it. We started processing documents. We didn't go to the sea for economy reasons, because there were very big expenses ahead: to dress and shoe them, to furnish their rooms," Aliaksei states.

As Volha assured, she only learned that the children would not return to her on the day of their planned arrival home after the vacation.

Her ex-husband insists: he informed her earlier, a week before the date he was supposed to take his sons to Minsk.

"I received my Russian passport approximately three weeks after I arrived in Luhansk. Well, and then the children expressed their intention to stay with me. And I started processing citizenship for them too," the man recounts.

Court after Court

Aliaksei states that he can no longer communicate directly with Volha, she has blocked him everywhere.

Parents communicate through the children's phones. Moreover, as the Belarusian woman claimed, sometimes not the most censored messages come from her ex-husband – in a messenger that the children have access to.

"How am I supposed to communicate with her if I'm blocked everywhere? So yes, that happened sometimes. But the same applies to her side. After our correspondence, I delete everything, the children don't read it. I take my son's phone on weekends because I monitor what the child is doing to avoid anything unnecessary," Aliaksei explains.

He claims that normal communication with his ex-wife is not possible.

"She never tried to come to an agreement with me. And when she comes here, thousands of applications go from her to all instances. This only creates problems for me and the children," Aliaksei believes.

According to him, he didn't even know that Volha had already contacted both the police and the court in Belarus.

"I didn't want to go to court at all, I wanted to discuss everything normally," the man assures.

However, as soon as Volha filed a lawsuit to determine the children's place of residence, Aliaksei prepared a similar one. Moreover, with a demand for alimony from his ex-wife.

"My demand was written purely from the perspective of responsible actions to her statement of claim. That's what my lawyer advised me. She also demanded alimony in her lawsuit," Aliaksei says.

He confirms that this issue had not been raised before. Allegedly, his ex-wife even indicated in a receipt that she would not ask for money for the children's maintenance from her ex-husband. One of the conditions was that very apartment.

Now Aliaksei wants $2000 from his ex-wife as alimony. He stated this amount in his claims.

The man denies any problem in communications between the state bodies of Luhansk and Minsk, saying that he sent all the necessary letters to his ex-wife. He also assures that the mother knew about the courts in Luhansk from the beginning. And she missed sessions not because she was unaware, but allegedly because she was in other countries, traveling.

"Believe me, the Luhansk court is aware of everything, Volha brings all documents: that the process in Minsk is suspended, and about some convention. Everything is proceeding correctly here at the legislative level. Now the boys are citizens of the Russian Federation, they are protected as Russian citizens, they live with their father," the man says.

"She is taking revenge on the children"

Aliaksei also assures that he in no way hinders the children's communication with their mother.

"She came, they went to cafes together, to children's entertainment rooms. Moreover, I wasn't even present. And they can communicate without problems by phone. I give the children complete freedom: if you want – call mom, if you don't – no need. She knows this perfectly well," the man says.

Павялічыць

Volha claims she cannot contact her sons. Screenshot provided by Volha Shabaeva

According to him, the mother did not come to some meetings even after specific arrangements. And once she even returned to Belarus before seeing her sons.

"You should ask her: why does she do that? She is generally taking very strong revenge on the children. Now the boys have a normal attitude towards their mother. But after each meeting, they want to see her less and less, because every time Volha subjects them to a real interrogation on camera," Aliaksei asserts.

He emphasizes that he is not against peaceful discussion, but thinks that it is no longer possible to agree on anything with his ex-wife. And he continues to insist: the children should live with him. According to him, the boys themselves told their mother that they want to stay with dad.

Павялічыць

Photo provided by the subject of the material

What the communication of the sons with their mother will be like if the Luhansk court sides with the father, Aliaksei cannot answer. He says Volha will still be able to see the children, but in his hometown.

"Everything will depend on her actions, her adequacy," the man concludes.

What's next?

Volha Shabaeva herself claims that she will continue to seek the return of her children home, despite all obstacles and slander from her ex-husband.

The next court hearing date in Luhansk is February 27.

The woman still hopes for help from the Belarusian side, which can return its citizens to their homeland.

• 0
• 1
• 0
• 1
• 0
• 2
• 0
• 0