Teenager who had been deported to Russia from Mariupol comes back to Ukraine
Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) Dmytro Lubinets has said that 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, has returned to Ukraine.
Source: Dmytro Lubinets on Telegram
Quote from Lubinets: "Bohdan came back to Ukraine on his birthday, the 19th of November. Our team in the Ombudsman’s Office worked alongside other government institutions to find a way to bring Bohdan back as part of the Bring Kids Back UA action plan set out by the President of Ukraine."
Details: Lubinets said that Qatar, UNICEF, and Ukraine’s Embassy in Belarus all took part in negotiations with Russia that culminated in Bohdan’s return to Ukraine.
"I also communicated with the Russian Human Rights Commissioner with regard to Bohdan’s reunion with his sister," Lubinets said.
He stressed that it was a "thorny path". "Bohdan went through a lot during his time in the Russian Federation, but despite it all he wanted to come back home! Today his wish came true. I’m sure that Bohdan will never forget his 18th birthday!" the Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner said.
Background:
- 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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