Bohdan Yermokhin, who was among the Ukrainian children deported by Russia and returned to Ukraine in November, said that in Russia he faced bullying from his peers, who, according to him, called the Ukrainian a “holy”. He told about this in an exclusive interview with Radio Liberty (project “How are you?”).
At the same time, according to him, the guardian in the Russian Federation treated him well and accepted the news about his desire to return to Ukraine normally, in contrast to Maria Lvova-Belova , the Russian President’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, who, according to Yermokhin, was angry.
The boy also spoke about what he saw in Mariupol, about how Russian propaganda turns deportees against their country and how deported Ukrainian children feel in Russia. He urged not to forget about them and announced his role in the return of minors.
Bohdan Yermokhin, a Ukrainian deported to Russia from Mariupol, returned to Ukraine on November 19 . It happened on the day of his 18th birthday. To pick up the boy, his official guardian and sister went to Minsk to pick him up. Bohdan Yermokhin’s return took place across the Belarusian-Ukrainian border.
Bohdan Yermokhin, an orphan from Mariupol, after the occupation of the city by Russian troops, was taken first to Donetsk, and later to the Moscow region, where he was placed under the care of a Russian family. Russian citizenship was issued to him, but he retained Ukrainian citizenship.
Yermokhin has repeatedly stated that he wants to return to Ukraine, where his adult sister can act as his legal representative. In March, he tried to escape to Ukraine through Belarus, but was detained. The Russian authorities cited the fact that, as a minor, he cannot decide for himself where to live. Yermokhin’s story gained resonance after the teenager received a summons demanding to be registered with the Russian Military Commissariat.
Yermokhin appealed to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, with a request to help him return home. He officially refused to give him an apartment in Russia as an orphan.
