Broken limbs, shattered spine: How a Ukrainian model was ‘assaulted' by ‘rich Russians' at Dubai party

First Post

23-07-2025

A Ukrainian model has opened up on her harrowing experience in Dubai, where she claims she was brutally tortured by 'rich Russian kids' in a five-star hotel party. The 20-year-old Maria Kovalchuk said she was left broken and bloodied on a road, following which she went into a coma. She claimed the police tried to silence her and allegedly fabricated her side of the story read more
Maria Kovalchuk alleged the Russian men treated her "like a pet" and left her with injuries so severe that she ended up in a coma. Image courtesy: Mary Lu/Instagram
What began as a seemingly glamorous party at a luxury hotel in Dubai turned into a nightmare for Ukrainian model Maria Kovalchuk.
The 20-year-old woman alleges that she was brutally tortured by a group of Russian 'rich kids' during a party at a five-star hotel. The men treated her 'like a pet' and left her with injuries so severe that she ended up in a coma, with a shattered spine and multiple broken limbs.
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Back in March, Maria was found bloodied and abandoned on the side of a road after she had been reported missing for a week. She confessed that the brutal assault left her wheelchair-bound due to serious health complications.
Now recovering in Norway, where her mother resides, the young model has finally opened up about what happened that night. Her interview aired earlier this week, is the first time she has spoken publicly about the ordeal.
Here's what we know so far.
_Warning: This article contains allegations which some readers may find distressing.
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What happened?
Maria Kovalchuk had travelled to Dubai to shoot content for her OnlyFans account. While staying at the luxury Five Jumeirah Village hotel, she missed her flight to Thailand after oversleeping.
Stranded, she accepted an offer from a 19-year-old man she had recently met at a karaoke bar. He said his father could arrange a private jet to fly her out, and invited her to a party in his hotel room. The gathering included wealthy businessmen from Ukraine and Russia.
Maria Kovalchuk said she was invited to a party which included wealthy businessmen from Ukraine and Russia, by a 19-year-old man she had met at a karaoke bar. Image courtesy: Mary Lu/ Instagram
What started as a seemingly harmless invite soon took a dark turn.
Maria says the men began mocking her for not drinking. 'They started making fun of me like 'you belong to us, we will do whatever we want',' she recalled in an interview with Ria Novosti. 'I tried to take it as a joke, because it was really weird.'
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According to her, the men quickly became aggressive. They began smashing bottles on the floor, leaving broken glass scattered across the room.
'That is, the entire floor was strewn with broken glass, that is, it was impossible to walk there,' she said.
She alleges that her passport and belongings were taken away. The only woman in the group reportedly slapped her and left, wearing her clothes, ignoring her protests.
Maria claims the men began making sexual advances — and when she refused, the situation escalated further.
'I did not reciprocate, and this aggression was also heating them up,' she told the news outlet.
In a desperate attempt to escape, Maria says she ran to a nearby construction site and hid inside.
'I ran away … I ran to the nearest building, just scared, and ran in, hid there. It was just an unfinished building, open,' she said.
But she was allegedly found, beaten, and thrown from a ledge.
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'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,' she said in a Daily Mail report.
Eventually, a passerby spotted Maria, wearing only a hotel bathrobe, lying injured on the road and called for an ambulance. She was rushed to the hospital and fell into a coma, remaining unconscious for several days.
'Police waited until [evidence] was wiped out'
Despite suffering severe injuries and undergoing multiple surgeries, Maria says she still doesn't remember exactly what happened to her that night. But she claims crucial video footage that could have helped piece the story together has disappeared.
'Three months have passed — the police waited until the cameras were automatically wiped [after this period],' Maria told Ria Novosti. 'Now there is no evidence.'
Maria also alleges that authorities made it difficult for her to leave Dubai. She says her passport was withheld, and cooperation from officials was hard to come by.
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The two men she named were taken into custody, but only briefly. According to Maria, they were detained for just one day and released due to 'lack of evidence'.
Maria also alleges that Dubai authorities made it difficult for her to leave and was allegedly asked not to say anything that could damage the reputation of the authorities. Image courtesy: X
Her mother, Anna, strongly criticised the men's behaviour, saying, 'When young men have money, they feel 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,' she told the Daily Mail. 'And then at some point, it crossed a line. That's the turning point — they went too far.'
Maria and her mother have also accused Dubai police of twisting her statement.
According to Anna, the official investigation report falsely claimed that Maria had tried to commit suicide while fleeing sexual violence, a version she says is completely fabricated.
'She was running away to protect her honour, her dignity, and then decided to commit suicide — that's what the police claimed,' Anna said. However, she said this was not true at all, and nor was she intoxicated according to medical tests.
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Anna added that Maria's hospital bills, which ran into millions, were covered by local authorities. 'I don't know how much they paid — the sum was colossal, millions,' she said.
The Russian outlet Ostorozhno, Novosti reported that in exchange for her medical treatment, Maria was allegedly asked not to say anything that could damage the reputation of Dubai's authorities.
Amid widespread online rumours, Maria has also denied attending what's known as a 'Porta Potty' party — a disturbing term used to describe high-end sex parties allegedly involving wealthy men degrading women for large sums of money.
Earlier, the National Police of Ukraine, and specifically the main investigation department of the Lviv region, where Maria is from, had officially launched a case in the matter, the Daily Mail reported.
With input from agencies