"Kitty the Defender" and "Ghost of Kyiv": a story of the boy with autism who helps the army

With "Kitty the Defender" on the chest, a "Battle Dove" on the bag, and "Palianytsia" – on the laptop. Clothes and merch with drawings by Kostya Krasnov save our defenders. Proceeds for clothes with his characters will be used to buy the bulletproof vests.

Kostya is 18 years old and has autism. Eight years ago, the boy and his family left Donetsk, his hometown, behind. Now he is helping with his talent on the home front.

"Dragons" by Kostya Krasnov are defending Ukraine

"And what is Kostya constantly drawing? Are they dragons or what?" one girl asked about the young artist's drawings.

Orange, red, and blue, with different hairstyles and funny facial expressions. Multi-colored lizards are Kostya Krasnov's favorite characters. In a few years, the boy created dozens, if not hundreds, of them. Drawing is his favorite pastime. For several years, Kostya's fantasies adorned eco-bags that anyone could buy, and the money went to support children with autism. The war forced us to switch to patriotic themes.

It all started with the boy's uncle. In February, he volunteered for the territorial defense of Bilozerske in the Donetsk region. Relatives asked Kostya's mother, Hanna Krasnova, to help purchase the bulletproof vest. The idea came suddenly: to sell the remains of the bags drawn by Kostya and use these funds to buy armor for the man. They had 40 eco-bags at home then.

Picture from Vlada Mykoliuk's Facebook page

"I made a post on Facebook, but I didn't have that many friends then. Only my friends and colleagues who like Kostya's works asked about the bags. And then, a publicist Vlada Mykoliuk saw our ad and published it on her page. Our idea became worldwide famous, and people started buying the bags and just making donations.

Picture from Vlada Mykoliuk's Facebook page

We sold all 40 eco-bags in one day. A caring woman gifted Kostya's uncle a bulletproof vest and the raised money we used to buy armor for our defenders. So many people responded that Vlada Mykolyuk offered to use the Kostya's drawings for merchandise – hoodies, t-shirts, paper cups, and stickers. The money we raised, we continued to spend on bulletproof vests.

With his mom, Kostya created several patriotic characters: "Kitty the Defender", "Ghost of Kyiv", "Dove the Fighter", "Palyanytsia", "Strawberry", and others. They are bright and unique. You can choose by yourself which characters will embellish your clothes. You can also order personalized eco-bags, not from the printing office but custom-made by Kostya's relatives and hand-painted by him.

Picture from Vlada Mykoliuk's Facebook page

"Everyone wants ginger cats and dragons. We have used piles of orange felt-tip pens. I don't know where to buy them by the piece, and they are too expensive to buy a pack," laughs Hanna Krasnova.

These were the characters in Vlada Mykoliuk's Facebook post. Kostya is drawing daily. He has the energy to draw both on paper and fabric.

"We are making up the ideas for drawings together." For example, there is a cartoon Valiant that Kostya likes. "The same way Valiant was fighting in a war, our war birdy is fighting for peace, so let's draw it."

He is a little tired of drawing only the male cats, so I had to be a bit tricky. I offered him to draw a female cat. This is how the "Kitty the Defender" character appeared – it's a cat with lashes.

Mom found a way to encourage her son:

"Нам слід збирати на бронежилети, тоді наші обов'язково переможуть. І ми зможемо повернутись до нашого життя".

Twice in a war zone

Kostya's mom had to tell him about the war twice. For the first time in 2014, when they were packing in a hurry to leave Donetsk for the Donetsk region, where there was no shelling. The woman was sure that the city would be liberated before Independence Day.

"We stayed in Bilozerske for two years. But there was nothing for kids with autism, so I had to school him at home. Then our acquaintances told us that they lived in Dnipro and attended a private rehabilitation center. We came here and realized that life here is different, and we need it," tells Hanna.

Artist Kostya

Their family made many friends in six years in Dnipro. Both sons go to the rehabilitation center, where Hanna works as a tutor, and studies at college to master this profession. But the war moved forward, and it became unsafe, in Dnipro as well.

"When the first air raid siren went on, our neighbor started knocking: "Fast. You should run." We packed an "emergency bag" and got dressed. But Kostya said, "I will not go anywhere." I tried to persuade him, pull him, but he started shouting. I said, "We should at least sit in the hallway." But he still refused. It is how our shelter trips ended," Hanna recalls the first sirens.

The word "war" reappeared in the Krasnov family again. Parents try to explain to their sons what it is, but it is difficult for boys to imagine what danger it carries:

"If there is an explosion and the car alarms go off, Kostya may ask, "What was it?". You answer, but war for him is abstract, though we talk about it. Kostya should know why he cannot go to the cinema, attend classes, or do what he usually used to. And he understands. He understood why we did not return to Donetsk 8 years ago."

In these years, Kostya asked his mother several times whether they could go to their hometown. "Let it be a red-blue-black flag," the son said.

"He saw such flags in Donetsk everywhere. And how do you instill a person with the spirit of patriotism if he is mentally disabled? I tell him, "Kostya, it is a war flag." After that, he created the painting "Burn, the war flag, burn", which depicts our fighters, and the DNR tricolor is burning next to them.

Autism diagnosis

Sons with their mom

We were supposed to meet with Kostya, his younger brother Anton and their mother near the park, but I was late for a few minutes. When I arrived, I got a phone call from Hanna Krasnova. She said that the boys became nervous, and she had to take them home. She promised she would be back in a few minutes.

Hanna returned by herself. She explained that this is how the war affects boys with autism. Because of the ruined life schedules, they lose flexibility every day. Several weeks ago, they could have waited, but not today.

"You may say that we are lucky to have a park nearby. But we do not come here. It is hard with the boys," tells Hanna.

Kostya was born healthy. He was developing just like other newborns, but he did not start talking when he was three. Grandma was the first one who got worried. "Why is he sitting and playing by himself, lining up his cars? Maybe he is autistic?" But Hanna and her husband refused immediately: how can a child be unhealthy if his parents are healthy? We do not smoke or drink.

"Then the stories of all relatives and acquaintances began: "Our child started talking after turning three". "And Sasha's and Masha's child began talking at the age of six." And we were sitting and waiting for it to happen," Hanna recalls.

After all the tests, the boy was diagnosed with autism when he was four and a half. Then the youngest son, Anton, was born.

"Until he turned two, I knew for sure that he also had the same diagnosis. He is a non-verbal autist: he does not speak, only listens. It is difficult for him to explain anything by himself."

Hanna is attached to her sons around the clock. Anton is 14 years old, and Kostya is 18. And if the younger one is diagnosed as a "child with autism", the older one is not because he is an adult.

"When we started preparing for adult disability formalization, I was told, that he would be officially mentally disabled. But this is only comorbidity, not the initial cause. I was told, that there are two adults in Ukraine diagnosed with autism, and your son will not be the third [it is because, in Ukraine, the ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases) acts, and only "childhood autism" is mentioned there. The ICD-11, where this concept applies to adults, is not implemented – ed.]."

Kostya was diagnosed with slight mental retardation and given a "working group" of disability, meaning he was supposed to be able to work. But Hanna managed to appeal this conclusion because her son was unable to work. To do this, she had to get labor expertise. In the hall of the medical institution, Kostya kicked hard and even knocked the woman to the floor because he could not wait. After the examination, the doctors gave him a "non-working group", in the end.

The level of Kostya's intelligence remains at the age of 7-8. He has a psychological disorder that prevents him from living and doing many things. The doctors cynically tell me, "Don't you want him to work?" I want him to work, go to school, graduate, get married, and have children. I want everything for him. But I did not succeed," sighs Anna.

The woman says that Kostya behaves like a real teenager, always dissatisfied with something. But this is because he misunderstands this world, and he is afraid of any change in life. Therefore, the family rejects the option to go abroad, because it will be a great stress for Kostya. Moreover, Hanna is not sure that she will be able to cope with her sons alone because their father will not be able to leave the country.

"Of course, we are considering the idea. But the children… What about them? How to be on the road or how to cross the border? Kostya is a big guy — he weighs 90 kilos. He can physically take me by the hand and pull me. For example, right now, he did not want to wait a few minutes for you and ran home. I had to catch up with him to take him to Dad. It is what is slowing us down. Although maybe it would be better to go abroad."

***

With the funds raised from Kostya's drawings, 17 bulletproof vests have already been purchased, and five more are about to be purchased. Sometimes volunteers send Hanna the videos of them handing over the armor to soldiers. She says it is so hard to hold back tears in such moments. One of the last bulletproof vests were given to her brothers from the Chornobyl district. They were both conscripted.

And one of the bulletproof vests saved the life of a Ukrainian soldier on the front line. It proves once again that every good deed matters today. Because good deeds save lives.

"We want to draw more. We want Kostya to create that tenth cat. This is how much we want to help."

Here you can find all the details about how to buy clothes with Kostya's drawings.