Orphaned Ukrainian Teen Returns Home Amid War Crime Accusations

Bohdan Yermokhin, one of an estimated 20,000 Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia, has returned home, avoiding potential conscription in the Russian army.

• Bohdan Yermokhin, an orphaned Ukrainian teenager who was taken to Russia from Mariupol by Russian forces during the war, has returned home to Ukraine.
• Yermokhin's return was facilitated by UNICEF, Qatari negotiators, and officials in Moscow, Kyiv, and Belarus.
• Yermokhin is one of an estimated 20,000 Ukrainian children who have been forcibly taken to Russia since the invasion, a practice deemed a war crime by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
• Before his return, Yermokhin had received a draft summons for mandatory military conscription in Russia, which was expected to be enforced upon his 18th birthday.
• Of the 20,000 Ukrainian children taken to Russia, around 400 have been returned so far.

9 Articles

Le Monde Al Jazeera Washington Post South China Morning Post The Messenger PBS NewsHour Associated Press Reuters Le Monde