A Ukrainian model who went missing after a party earlier this month was found in Dubai dumped by the side of a road with horrific injuries.
Maria Kovalchuk, who was 20 this month, had been missing for eight days after telling friends she had been invited to a party at a hotel on March 9.
She was set to attend the event ‘with two men who introduced themselves as representatives of the modelling business,’ according to several Ukrainian media reports.
The model told her mother, Anna, that she would be staying with these representatives for the night, but she subsequently disappeared.
Maria had booked a flight to Thailand that departed Dubai on March 11, but did not turn up at the airport.
Anna and concerned friends then contacted local authorities who launched a search for Maria and opened an investigation, but she remained missing for several days.
On March 19, ten days after she first went missing, a battered and bloodied Maria was found dumped at a roadside in Dubai with her limbs and spine broken, according to Russian outlets Shot and Life.
Maria was rushed to hospital, and according to her mother underwent three surgeries to save her life, before later receiving a fourth procedure.
She remains in a critical condition and is reportedly unable to speak.
Friends and family hope she is able to make a full recovery to talk about her ordeal and explain what happened.
Speaking to Ukrainian media earlier this week, Anna said: ‘There is an assumption that she went to a party. But the promoter who organized these parties did not see her.
‘Today Masha was found in the hospital in serious condition.
‘She has no documents, no phone, nothing. She has undergone three operations. And she cannot speak.
Maria’s friend, Russian model Angelina Doroshenkova, 31, said: ‘We all hope for the best and are very grateful to everyone who took part in the search and helped with information.’
She was spending time with Maria in Dubai and was reportedly invited to the same party on March 9, but ultimately decided to return to Russia days before.
Maria, from the city of Lviv in Western Ukraine, is also a known anti-war activist, and had participated in an event expressing solidarity with a jailed Russian sociologist.