SITTING in her Claregalway apartment, Daria Petrenko (36) speaks quietly but firmly about the nightmare that began almost three months ago. Her husband, Dmitry Simbaev (49), who has lived in Ireland for the last 25 years, was detained in Russia on August 14. She has been told he is being held on charges of terrorism and extremism.

The kettle boils as she makes tea and offers homemade strawberry jam – a traditional recipe passed down to her. The simple gesture offers a brief sense of normality, though the strain shows behind her eyes.

She is haunted by the events that have unfolded and, at times, tears flow.

“I just want my husband back,” she says simply.

Daria fled from war-torn Ukraine, while Dmitry, who is a dual Irish Russian citizen, had long made Ireland his home.

The couple married at the Oranmore Lodge Hotel on February 2, 2023, after a romance that she says was “from the sky and in the stars.” They share an apartment together in Claregalway.

“He’s a good man,” she says softly.

“After I came to Ireland, we met two weeks later. We talked, we travelled and we’ve been together ever since.

“He made many renovations to this home – the floors, the ceiling – everything. He’s kind and always helping people. Every year he flies home to visit his elderly parents and niece in Chelyabinsk. It’s a tradition for him to visit his family. They mean so much to him.

“He never had any trouble before.”

But this time, Dmitry’s journey home took a devastating turn. He flew to Riga, Latvia, before boarding a bus to St Petersburg. From there, he took a flight to his native Chelyabinsk.

“As soon as he stepped off the plane, the police stopped him,” Daria recalls.

“He called me and said, ‘they took me.’ I started crying, panicking, and asking about what has happened? It was such a shock. But in Russia, it’s so difficult to get any information.”

Daria later learned that Dmitry was interrogated for 14 hours. She fears his detention may be linked to the fact that he declared he is married to a Ukrainian citizen.

Pictured: Pleading…Daria Petrenko at home in Claregalway. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.