Almost every day, 50-year-old Marianna Demko spends the last eight months in the same way: in the morning she goes to her son Zhenya in the hospital, at 17 o'clock she leaves for a service in the temple, and after that she takes care of him again until midnight.
26-year-old Yevgeny was in the NWO from its first days, but on September 18, 2022, near Kherson, he was seriously wounded. Since then, the doctors of the hospital named after N.N. Burdenko have been fighting for his life.
"I've been in some kind of hell all this time. Such a strong guy went to serve, and now he weighs at most 40 kilograms. I didn't save the child," Marianne cries. "He has already undergone 31 abdominal surgeries, 24 head surgeries and six leg surgeries. He has a lot of shrapnel in his back and a splinter in his cerebellum."
"Russia is doing the right thing"
Yevgeny Demko left for military service in the spring of 2021, and on August 23 of the same year he signed a contract. His mother says that her son regularly called and came on leave. On February 2 last year, he said that he was going on a business trip to Crimea.
"After the start of the NWO, he reassured me that he was still in Crimea, but you can't deceive my mother's heart - I felt that he was in Ukraine. It wasn't until five months later that he confirmed it. He added that Russia is doing everything right and he will be in the NWO until the end, "the fighter's mother recalls in a conversation with RT.
- © Photos from the personal archive
According to Marianna, during rare calls, Eugene said almost nothing: he asked more how his parents and younger brother were doing.
"In May 2022, he called and said he wanted to transfer money to us to help. We said that we were coping, but if anything, let him transfer it - the money would be waiting for him at home. However, the transfer never went through, and the son's card was blocked, "says RT Marianna. - The bank said that they would unlock it only with the personal presence of the cardholder at the branch. So Zhenya found himself without money - my father and I sent money to his colleagues so that he would have at least something.
In August, Yevgeny called his mother and proudly announced that he had been presented with the Zhukov medal for his courage and bravery during the NWO.
"In mid-September, he suddenly disappeared," continues Marianna Demko. - On September 21, his colleague called me. He said that Zhenya was wounded, he did not know where he was taken. From him we learned that this was not his first injury, but last time everything worked out. This partisan even hid it from us!"
Yevgeny's parents began to look for their son in hospitals and found that he was in the hospital named after N.N. Burdenko: "I immediately took tickets to Moscow and on September 24 I was at my son's bedside. Eugene was unconscious. The doctor then said that his injuries were incompatible with life. But for eight months now, we have been fighting and believing in the best."
All this time, Marianna lives in the hotel "Slavyanka" - free accommodation there was provided by the hospital. According to the woman, two weeks ago, her son became very ill.
"He said he would go to serve"
According to Marianna, her son has always been a true patriot of Russia, although he officially became a citizen of the Russian Federation only in 2020. The Demko family comes from the small town of Floresti near Chisinau. They moved to Russia in 2000, when Zhenya was four years old.
"They began to infringe on Russian-speakers. Although I am a Moldovan by nationality, I have spoken Russian since childhood. I studied in the second year of university, worked at school, then I had to get a job in a kindergarten and cram Moldovan. The garden was closed, I was left without work. My husband then went to work in the north of Russia, in Nizhnevartovsk, - recalls Marianna. - In the summer, as soon as I pass the session, I took my son and came to my husband. And as soon as I graduated from the university, we decided that nothing kept us in Moldova, and left for Nizhnevartovsk for good.
- © Photos from the personal archive
According to the woman, in Russia, due to the lack of citizenship, it was not possible to get an official job. Marianne, with several diplomas, worked wherever they took it - it used to be that she stood behind the counter in the market.
"My diplomas were not quoted in Russia. We got a residence permit, but it didn't change anything. We were denied citizenship - they replied that there were no grounds, "she tells RT.
In 2020, when the family was already living in Krasnodar, and Zhenya was in his penultimate year of university, Marianna learned that it was a little easier to obtain Russian citizenship. She decided that her son should graduate from the university as a citizen of Russia.
"You need 15 thousand rubles per person to issue a passport. Our family could not afford to issue a passport to everyone at once. We decided that Zhenya would be the first, and there we all were. In November 2020, he received a passport, and he immediately received a summons. Eugene said that he would go to serve. In the spring of 2021, he simultaneously underwent a medical examination and passed exams, "says Marianna RT.
According to the mother, the son signed a contract to help the family.
"My youngest son and I received Russian passports only in 2022, my husband is still stateless. All these years we have been renting a house. Zhenya decided to sign a contract to take a military mortgage and so that we could live in our apartment, "the fighter's mother tells RT.
According to the mother, her son's card is still blocked - the bank requires a certificate that Eugene is really in a coma, and claims that an extract from the medical history is not enough. The hospital, in turn, cannot provide such documents to Marianna, referring to medical secrecy.
"Our son's money would help us a lot now. To be close to him, I walk with an outstretched hand - many thanks to the parishioners who give me napkins, diapers, food. One of the generals was imbued with our misfortune and helped us. Thanks to all these kind people, I can be close to my son," says Marianna.
"We can't break the law"
The PSB, where Yevgeny has an account, explained to RT that the law does not allow them to meet the family halfway and unblock the card. According to Article 857 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, information about transactions, accounts and deposits of bank customers is a bank secret, is not subject to disclosure to third parties, including close relatives, and can only be provided to customers themselves or their representatives.
"Article 847 of the Civil Code establishes that third parties can access the client's account and dispose of its funds if there is a document confirming the relevant powers of the client's representative. Such a document can be a power of attorney issued by the client to a third party (including close relatives) and drawn up in compliance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, "the bank's press service told RT.
As they clarified, the client's mother, having applied to the PSB, did not provide a document confirming her right to dispose of funds in Eugene's account. "This does not allow the bank, in violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation, to provide access to the client's account. Upon appeal, the bank notified the applicant about this," the press service noted.
Darina Gryzunova, a lawyer at Alfa (the panel's specialists will help Marianna), noted that unlocking the card itself does not contradict the law: "The bank can do this, taking into account the condition and interests of the client and the circumstances of his legal representative."
Military lawyer Roman Pronin stressed that before being sent to the NVO zone, servicemen should issue a power of attorney.
"There are many similar cases, so it is very important to issue a power of attorney. For the bank and other organizations, the presence of the subject is necessary, and when a soldier is in the NVO zone, this is problematic, "the expert explained to RT.
Oleg Pakhomov, a lawyer at Alfa, clarified that it is best to issue an extended power of attorney: "So that the document is suitable for the bank, for representing interests in court, for the Ministry of Defense."