Ukraine has returned Mariupol teenager deported to receive call-up to Russian army

The 17-year-old Bohdan Yermokhin, deported from the Russian-occupied Mariupol and served with a military draft notice in Russia, has arrived been returned to Ukraine

Previously, he managed to leave Russian territory and flee to Belarus, the Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.

"On November 19, on his birthday, Bogdan returned to Ukraine. It was our team of the Office of the Ombudsman that worked out the way to return the guy together with other state authorities within the framework of the implementation of the approved action plan of the President of Ukraine Bring Kids Back UA," the head of the department noted.

The return was possible in cooperation with Qatar, UNICEF, and the Ukrainian embassy in Belarus due to negotiations with the Russian side. Lubinets stressed that "it was a thorny path."

"Bohdan has been through a lot in Russia, but despite everything he wanted to be at home! Today his wish came true. I am sure that Bogdan will never forget his 18th birthday!, " wrote the Ombudsman.

The deported teenager from Mariupol Bohdan Ermokhin appealed to President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling for help to return to Ukraine.

The boy's lawyer, Kateryna Bobrovska, said that in May 2022, the Russian military took Bohdan out of occupied Mariupol with 30 other children and placed him in Russian custody.

The child was waiting for his sister as his legal guardian, but the Russians did not let Bohdan go. In 2022, the guy made several attempts to return to Ukraine on his own, but they were all unsuccessful.

At the end of November, Bohdan will turn 18 years old. In December, he was issued a summons to the military enlistment office in the Moscow region.