Kyiv, Mar 16: Amidst the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, troubling reports emerge of Russian forces actively recruiting Ukrainian teenagers into their military ranks. Ukrainian authorities estimate that since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, approximately 20,000 children have been forcibly transported to Russia, CNN reported.Shockingly, more than 2,100 children remain unaccounted for, although government officials suggest the actual number could be significantly higher.
Bohdan Yermokhin’s harrowing journey exemplifies this disturbing trend. Initially deported from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol by Russian forces in the spring of 2022, he found himself thrust into a foreign environment.
Transported to Moscow on a government plane, Yermokhin was placed under the care of a foster family and enrolled in a patriotic camp near the capital. There, amid fervent flag-waving and praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin, attempts were made to indoctrinate him with nationalistic fervor through songs and propaganda, according to CNN.
Despite his Ukrainian identity, Yermokhin was issued a Russian passport and compelled to attend a Russian school. As the fall of 2023 approached, just before his 18th birthday, he received a summons from a Russian military recruitment office. For Yermokhin, this was the final affront–an attempt by Russia to coerce him into fighting against his own people.
Transported to Moscow on a government plane, Yermokhin was placed under the care of a foster family and enrolled in a patriotic camp near the capital. There, amid fervent flag-waving and praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin, attempts were made to indoctrinate him with nationalistic fervor through songs and propaganda, according to CNN.
Despite his Ukrainian identity, Yermokhin was issued a Russian passport and compelled to attend a Russian school. As the fall of 2023 approached, just before his 18th birthday, he received a summons from a Russian military recruitment office. For Yermokhin, this was the final affront–an attempt by Russia to coerce him into fighting against his own people.
Last March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, citing their alleged involvement in the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children. Despite acknowledgments by Russian authorities, children were transferred without proper oversight, often lacking guardians or parental consent, as reported by CNN.