Zelenskyy commented on the return of the deported young man: There were many attempts to help him

Bohdan Yermokhin. PHOTO: DMYTRO LUBINETS ON TELEGRAM

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked everyone involved in the return home of Bohdan Yermokhin who was deported from the occupied city of Mariupol by the Russians; he turned 18 on 19 November.

Source: President’s evening address

Quote: “Separately I would like to thank everyone whose concern and efficiency help us return to Ukraine children who were abducted from the occupied territory. 

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Today we managed to return to Ukraine Bohdan Yermokhin, a boy who was taken from Mariupol to Russia. 

There were many attempts to help him. I am glad that everything worked out. I am grateful to the entire team working on the return of Ukrainian children – the Office, the Ombudsman, and our international partners, including UNICEF. I am especially grateful to Qatar for its effective mediation and assistance. Thank you!”

Background:

• On Sunday, Bohdan Yermokhin, a teenager who had been deported from Russian-occupied Mariupol in southern Ukraine to the Russian Federation where he received a draft notice, returned to Ukraine.
• Russian occupation authorities deported Bohdan Yermokhin, then 16, from Mariupol in 2022. He was placed in a children’s health centre in Moscow Oblast.
• In July 2022, Bohdan was placed under the guardianship of Irina Rudnitskaya, a Chechen War veteran. Around that time, Bohdan sought help from a lawyer.
• With his 18th birthday approaching on 19 November 2023, Bohdan received a draft notice; he was told to report to a military enlistment office in Moscow Oblast on 19 December 2023.
• Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner, who is the subject of the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, claimed that Bohdan would be able to travel back to Ukraine in a week.
• In early November, Dmytro Lubinets reported that Ukraine had arranged to bring Bohdan back to Ukraine.

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