The mother of a Ukrainian model who was found seriously injured on the side of the road in Dubai was ‘treated like a pet’ by jet-setting wealthy Russians, her mother has claimed.
Maria Kovalchuk, 20, had suffered a broken spine and limbs when she was discovered on a roadside back in March after going missing.
Speaking out about her terrifying ordeal for the first time in an interview which aired yesterday, she claimed she was left in a coma after attending a party with Russian ‘rich kids’ at a five-star hotel in Dubai.
But her alleged abusers, who have been described as ‘golden youth Russians’, were released after being investigated by Dubai police and have not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Her mother Anna has condemned their behaviour, saying that ‘when young men have money’ they have ‘no boundaries’.
‘They found themselves a pet, someone they could torment. Just to trigger her, watch her suffer, see her fear – almost as entertainment’.
‘And then at some point, it crossed a line. That’s the turning point — they went too far’, her mother Anna added.
Maria Kovalchuk, 20, had suffered a broken spine and limbs when she was discovered on a roadside in March after going missing
The model had been in a coma after she was found close to death having ‘fallen from a height’
Speaking out about her terrifying ordeal for the first time in an interview which aired yesterday, she claimed she was left in a coma after attending a party with Russian ‘rich kids’ at a five-star hotel in Dubai
A Russian socialite Telegram channel claimed to know one of Maria’s alleged abusers, and described the party as a ‘get-together of rich, spoiled, disgustingly brought up jet-setter children, who traveled between London, Moscow, Ibiza, etc.’
The party goers reportedly told police they were merely seeking to ‘help’ Kovalchuk.
Anna – who has seen the police statements and report – said in an interview: ‘The men said: “We all went looking for her together. First, we searched the floor where the hotel room was. Then we went downstairs, asked at reception, and were told she had left, so we went outside to find her”.
‘They also said in their statements that on the first day they were all just hanging out.
‘They claimed they all knew each other, that everything was normal, everything was great, everyone was having a good time …. Then something happened with Masha [Maria].
‘She started drinking alcohol. They claimed she tried to climb over to the neighbours’ balcony — but in fact, she was calling for help. They dragged her back inside.’
Maria’s horror unfolded when she missed a flight from Dubai to Thailand.
While checking out of her hotel, she bumped into a wealthy Russian man she had met at a karaoke bar once before.
Maria said she had believed he would fly her to Thailand on his father’s private plane and had agreed to join him and his friends in his hotel room for a party.
But the gathering suddenly turned violent, she says, after two Russian men, who were fuelled by drugs and alcohol, began to abuse her and tease her.
‘There were some aggressive pushes, they started to joke: ‘You belong to us. We’ll do whatever we want”, Maria said.
‘I tried to take it as a joke, because it was really weird.
‘They started behaving inappropriately, smashing bottles on the floor.
‘After that, they took my personal belongings, which included my passport.’
Her alleged abusers, who have been described as ‘golden youth Russians’, were released after being investigated by Dubai police
Maria Kovalchuk pictured before her alleged attack
Maria is now recovering in Norway, where her parents live. Pictured: Maria and her mother Anna
The model added that the men had ‘hinted’ that they wanted to have sex with her, which she did not reciprocate.
As things escalated, Maria tried to escape but said the men ultimately dragged her back into the hotel room.
When they stepped out onto the balcony, she managed to flee and hid at a nearby construction site.
The men then found her and ‘beat her’, she said.
‘I ran away. Then, already on the street… I didn’t see them anymore, but I knew they were coming,’ said Maria.
‘I ran to the nearest building, just scared, and ran in, hid there. It was just an unfinished building.’
She had fled wearing only a hotel robe, after a female guest at the party allegedly slapped Maria and stole her dress.
‘I think that maybe I was thrown. Or it was a beating. One of two options, the injuries looked like either a beating or a fall.’
Maria, who has undergone multiple surgeries and remains in a wheelchair, has no recollection of the violence she endured that led to her injuries, but she says the CCTV footage that captured her ordeal has been erased.
‘Three months have passed – the police waited until the cameras were automatically wiped [after this period]’, she claimed.
‘Now there is no evidence’.
Maria has also claimed that police made it ‘very difficult for her to leave Dubai, and accused cops of withholding her passport.
The two men accused by Maria were briefly detained by police in Dubai – but only for one day.
They reportedly told cops that they were only looking to ‘help’ Maria.
There appear to be no charges against them due to ‘lack of evidence’.
Maria and her mother have also accused the police of falsifying her testimony.
Maria had been missing for eight days after telling her friends she had been invited to a party at a hotel on March 9.
On March 19, ten days after she disappeared, a battered and bloodied Maria was found dumped at a roadside in Dubai with her limbs and spine broken.
Maria was rushed to hospital and underwent three surgeries to save her life, before later receiving a fourth procedure.
The model has also denied that she was involved in a ‘Porta Potty’ party – as earlier reports had suggested – where sheikhs reportedly pay large sums to abuse and degrade attractive young women.
