The artisan from Paraíba, Silvana Pilipenko, 54, who has lived in Ukraine for 27 years, has been missing since the 2nd, according to her sister, Rosimeri Vicente. Ukraine was invaded by Russia three weeks ago.
The four-story building in Mariupol where Silvana was staying with her husband, Ukrainian naval engineer Vasili Pilipenko, and her 86-year-old mother-in-law was partially bombed. The city in the southeast of the country, close to the Russian border, has been under siege by Moscow troops for days and is in a serious humanitarian situation, with reports of supply difficulties.
When contacted, Itamaraty confirmed that it is aware of the case, but said it would not provide details.
As soon as the war started, at the end of February, Silvana reported what was happening to her family in Paraíba through videos and other posts on her social networks.
In one of the conversations, he commented on the difficulties that Mariupol was facing with the siege, citing lack of water and energy and the scarcity of food in supermarkets. Worried about the scenario, she feared that in the following days she would no longer be able to keep in touch with her family due to lack of internet.
“She’s been living in Ukraine for a long time. There were always conflicts there, but none lasted long, so she thought it wouldn’t be so serious this time”, says her sister, who lives in João Pessoa.
According to Rosimeri, Silvana visited Brazil frequently. “When the husband embarked [em missões de trabalho], she came. She had scheduled to return to Paraíba on March 20, when she would start dental treatment,” she says, adding that the war, however, might have made her postpone the trip.
Since the 2nd, the family has had no further contact with Silvana. A week before the start of the conflict, her son Gabriel Pilipenko, 26, who works in the same profession as his father, went to Taiwan for work.
However, without being able to communicate with his parents and learning about the bombing of the building where his grandmother lived, he decided to quit his job during the trip. The young man managed to go to Germany and in the next few days he will try to return to Ukraine in search of information from his parents and grandmother.
“He said he doesn’t go straight to Mariupol, for fear of suffering from the bombings”, says Rosimeri. According to her, Gabriel must first travel to Odessa, another important port city in southern Ukraine, also on the brink of a Russian offensive.
The family in Brazil says they believe the Paraíba is alive and still in Mariupol — in some shelter, for example, but without internet. “We don’t know if she managed to get out of the building, if she’s in a hospital, but we believe she hasn’t left the city.” That’s because Silvana’s mother-in-law had suffered a fall and was having mobility difficulties.
In her latest posts on social media, Silvana told the scene of the conflict. “War has many facets, and one of them is hunger and thirst,” he wrote on February 26, two days after the start of the war.
On the 27th, he made the last post, quoting a biblical verse: “Do you not know, have you not heard that the Eternal, Yahweh, the Lord, the Creator of all the earth, is not tired or exhausted? His wisdom is unfathomable, his knowledge [é] incomprehensible. It makes the weary strong and multiplies the strength of those who are weary! (Isaiah, 40:28,29)”.
The executive secretary of Institutional Representation of Paraíba, Adauto Fernandes, informed that there is still no official information about Silvana’s case, noting that the Foreign Ministry does not have a list with the place of birth of Brazilians who are in Ukraine.
According to him, the only information the state government has is that 16 people from Paraíba entered the consulate, between February 2021 and February 2022, to regularize their entry into Ukraine — and that so far only one has returned. Fernandes forwarded a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs specifically requesting information about Silvana Pilipenko.
In a note, the Foreign Ministry limited itself to informing that it is aware of the case of Paraíba, through the support office in Lviv, and that it has kept in touch with her family members. “International humanitarian support organizations present in the city have already been contacted with a view to trying to locate it”, says the text.
The folder also says that detailed information cannot be shared. “In compliance with the right to privacy and the provisions of the Access to Information Law and Decree 7,724/2012, detailed information may only be passed on with the authorization of those involved.”
