Orphan Bogdan Yermochin returned to Ukraine from Russia on Sunday. The Gulf state of Qatar and UNICEF helped implement a corresponding agreement between Kiev and Moscow.
“On November 19, his birthday, Bogdan returned to Ukraine,” the Human Rights Commissioner of the Ukrainian Parliament, Dmytro Lubinets, said on the Telegram platform on Sunday. He posted several photos of the youth and emphasized the role of Qatar and UNICEF in the homecoming.
“It was a difficult road. Bogdan experienced a lot during his stay in Russia, but despite everything he wanted to go home! Today his wish came true,” he continued. The Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, confirmed that the teenager was already in Ukraine. Russian children’s rights representative Maria Lwowa-Belowa also confirmed this.
Trained in the metal sector
Before the outbreak of war in February 2022, Yermochin lived in Mariupol, where he reportedly trained in the metal industry. After the city was captured, he and a group of minors were taken first to the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Donetsk and later to the Moscow region.
Like many Ukrainians in Russian-occupied territories, he is said to have been naturalized. It was said that the army had asked him to prepare his military documents. The teenager tried to escape in March but was stopped by Russian security forces.
So far 400 returnees
The International Criminal Court (ICC) accuses the Russian military of kidnapping thousands of minors from Ukraine (see video above). The Kremlin denies the accusations. The Ukrainian government estimates that 20,000 children and young people have been forcibly sent to Russia. Only 400 of them have returned so far.
The Qatari government aims to play a key role as a facilitator in the return of children and youth. Last month, the emirate arranged the return of four Ukrainian children, including a boy as young as two years old.
Source: Krone
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