Ukrainian teenager from Mariupol whom Russians called up sent to Belarus

Bohdan Yermokhin, 17, illegally deported from the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol and served with a military draft notice in Russia, has arrived in Belarus and is staying there with his sister.

Source: Vyorstka, a Russian-language online media outlet, citing Yermokhin and his lawyer Ekaterina Bobrovskaya; Tatyana Moskalkova, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation, on Telegram

Details: Reports indicate that as early as 13 November, Yermokhin, whom the Russian authorities promised to take to a "third country" to meet a relative before he reached the age of majority (by 19 November), posted on his Instagram that he was still unaware of the details of the upcoming trip. "Give me an answer or any information on this," he demanded.

Ukrainska Pravda asked the lawyer and Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner, to verify this information, but they did not respond at the time of this story being posted.

Later, Russian ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova confirmed that the Russians brought Yermokhin from Moscow to Minsk.

She posted photos and videos confirming her words. In the video, Yermokhin thanked everyone who helped him get out of Russia and said that "everything was fine" while he was there.

"Now I am at the airport [in Moscow – ed.], on my way to Minsk. I want to say to everyone who helped me: I was loved here, and everything was fine. But this is what I want. Thank you all again. See you later," says Yermokhin.

Background:

• The Russians deported Bohdan Yermokhin, 16 at the time, from Mariupol in 2022.  He ended up in a children's sanatorium in Moscow Oblast.
• In July 2022, he was placed under the care of Irina Rudnitskaya, a Russian national and veteran of the Chechen war. Afterwards, the young man sought help from a lawyer.
• Bohdan turns 18 on 19 November. The young man said he received a draft notice to report to the Moscow Oblast military enlistment office on 19 December 2023.
• Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights, who is the subject of an ICC arrest warrant, claimed that the young man would be sent home next week.
• In early November, Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, reported that Ukraine had arranged to bring back Bohdan Yermokhin.

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