A young boy has been saved from a dreadful ordeal after being discovered locked inside an apartment he had never left throughout his whole life.
Prosecutors report that the eight-year-old boy had never attended school or had any toys, and his diet consisted solely of bread.
Identified only as Artem, the malnourished child was found in the city of Krasnodar, Russia, on May 27.
The shocking conditions in which the kid was kept was outlined in horrifying detail by prosecutors.
The flat was absolutely filthy, full of rotting food and stank of faeces, while cockroaches crawled all over the place.
Artem had been confined to the squalid apartment for the whole of his life so far.
The child had no bed, toys or even clothes anywhere in the flat.
His mother and grandmother, with whom he lived, allegedly never let him go outside.
Artem was found to be in a state of severe neglect and is now receiving care in a rehabilitation centre.
He was suffering from an undisclosed disability and was in urgent need of medical attention, according to local media.
An anonymous tip-off from a concerned citizen prompted investigators to look into the matter and find the child.
A spokesperson for the regional prosecutor’s office said: “The boy had never left the apartment.
“He had not been to a medical facility, a school or a kindergarten.”
The mother, 37, and grandmother, 69, and now under criminal investigation for child abuse and neglect.
Neighbours have revealed they were completely unaware that a kid was living in the flat.
Many in the area believed it was just the two women who resided there.
“I once saw the mother and grandmother standing by the garages,” one neighbour said.
“They were hiding the boy behind them. They looked strange and unkempt.”
An investigation remains ongoing as to how the child was kept hidden away for so long.
Krasnodar, where the child was found, is a regional capital in southern Russia.
