Bohdan Yermokhin, a teenage orphan who was taken to Russia from the occupied Azov Sea port city of Mariupol, has returned home after being reunited with relatives in Belarus, Ukrainian officials said.
Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, announced Yermokhin's return in a November 19 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, along with a photo of the young man on Ukrainian territory.
Our team succeeded in bringing home Bohdan Yermokhin – a Ukrainian boy deported by russia from occupied Mariupol to moscow region. The return happened within the framework of the action plan approved by President 🇺🇦 @ZelenskyyUa – @bkb_ua. Today, Bohdan turned 18. pic.twitter.com/jQqHkgzQRf
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) November 19, 2023
Yermokhin's return coincided with his 18th birthday.
Yermokhin is just one of thousands of Ukrainian minors who were forcibly deported or transferred to Russia in the wake of Moscow's invasion in February 2022.
However, his case gained international prominence after he and his lawyer on November 9 appealed directly to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Facebook for his return home.
Yermokhin had recently received a notice from a Russian military commissariat informing him that he must register for possible service with the Russian armed forces. Russia conscripts young men starting at age 18.
A day after his Facebook post, Ukrainian rights ombudsman Bohdan Lubinets reported that an agreement had been reached under which Yermokhin would be allowed to return to Ukraine.
Yermokhin, who lost both parents a few years ago, had been living with a foster family in Mariupol and studying at the Mariupol Higher Metallurgical Vocational School when Russia launched its invasion.
After Russian forces took control of the port city, Yermokhin was taken to Russia and placed with a foster family in the Moscow region. He was also given Russian citizenship.
Forcibly deporting children is a war crime and the International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova.
Yermokhin’s Ukrainian lawyer, Kateryna Bobrovska, said Yermokhin met with Lvova-Belova in August 2022 and was compelled to write a statement saying he wanted to stay in Russia until he came of age.
In March, he tried to escape to Ukraine through Belarus but was detained at the border before he could leave the country. Russian authorities argued he was a minor and could not decide for himself where to live.
As of November 19, he is no longer considered a minor.
To date, only about 390 children deported to Russia have been repatriated to Ukraine, either by their families or thanks to humanitarian associations.
Ukraine and the West continue to fight for the return of the other children.