Alexei Tereshchenko was born in 2017 to unmarried parents David Tereshchenko and Elena Ivanova, who shared custody rights They had already split up during the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, which prompted David to relocate to Denmark with Alexei. However, Elena subsequently absconded with Alexei to Italy which is when David contacted Missing Children Europe for help.

We provided information in Ukrainian and connected David with Borns Vilkar, our  member organisation in Denmark. The Danish hotline operator offered support in initiating legal proceedings under the 1980 Hague International Child Abduction Convention and guided David through the application process. As Alexei was in Italy, Missing Children Europe also involved Italian member, Telefono Azzurro who aided by facilitating document translations into Italian.

The Italian Central Authority was not able to locate Elena and Alexei, as they had already left their last known address in Italy by that time. Elena returned to Ukraine and initiated  custody proceedings there. Legal proceedings remain ongoing, with Missing Children Europe and its network of member organisations committed to supporting the family throughout.

Read more:

  • Missing Children Europe’s Annual Review 2023

About Børns Vilkår

Børns Vilkår was founded in 1977 by journalist Frode Muldkjær, pediatrician Svend Heinild, social worker Tine Bryld and children’s librarian Jan Tøth. At the time, the overall purpose of the organization was to abolish the right to reprimand – i.e. the right of parents to hit children – and they succeeded in 1997. From the beginning, the vision was to listen to, involve and bring children’s voices to politicians. Today, we know that far too many children in Denmark are alone with their problems. Børns Vilkår fights to ensure that no child in Denmark is neglected: neither by their closest adults nor by society.