She Went to Dubai Chasing Dreams. She Returned Brutally Beaten

Maria Kowalczuk is a Ukrainian model who travelled to Dubai in March 2025 hoping to advance her modelling career. Her stay in the United Arab Emirates, however, ended in tragedy. She was brutally beaten and seriously injured, which led to months of hospitalisation and lasting health consequences.

A Nightmare in Dubai

In mid-March, the model was found bloodied beside a road in Dubai, with serious injuries including a broken spine and limbs. Police initially claimed she had fallen from a height at a construction site, but Maria and her family firmly denied this, saying she had been the victim of an assault and violence.

Maria said that after arriving in Dubai she got in touch with a man who offered to help her. They met in a karaoke bar. Soon Maria found herself in a dangerous circle, including among the children of wealthy Russian and Ukrainian businessmen, where she was physically attacked. She described repeated aggression, intimidation and deprivation of liberty, which developed into a true nightmare. The men were brutal towards her, shoving her, mocking her, smashing bottles and threatening that they would “do with her whatever they wanted”. Her personal belongings, including her passport, were taken, and one of the girls stole and put on her clothes.

Maria also recounted that after refusing to get closer to these people, she was brutally beaten. She managed to escape to a construction site, where she was found by passers-by. For a week she was considered missing.

The Model's Current Health

After several surgeries, Maria has recovered somewhat. She is currently staying under her mother’s care in Norway and moves around in a wheelchair or on crutches. The model’s mother criticises the Dubai police, which in her view downplayed the case, allowing suspects to be released too quickly and evidence to be lost. Among the main suspects in the assault is Artem Papazov, son of a businessman from Donetsk, who, according to Maria’s family, was detained by Dubai police but quickly released, most likely as a result of pressure and corruption.