“A year and seven months today – on her birthday, 13 May.”
Elena Korniy is calculating the time that has passed since her family last saw her younger sister, Iryna Horobtsova. Two letters and a short note are all the information the family has received since Iryna was kidnapped by Russian security services in Kherson in May 2022.
Many years ago, before social media became ubiquitous, Iryna and I knew each other. We lived in neighbouring apartment blocks in Kherson, and every morning we would take the minibus that went from the northern outskirts of the city to the centre to get to university.
