According to recent reports from Ukraine, approximately 20,000 young Ukrainians have been forcibly taken to Russia. These young people are currently under immense pressure from the Russian government to participate in training programs and join the military ranks of Vladimir Putin’s country. The ultimate goal is to use them in a fight on Ukrainian soil, as revealed by CNN last week.
One such case that has received widespread attention is that of Bohdan Yermokhin, a young Ukrainian who was taken by Russian authorities from Mariupol when Putin’s country invaded Ukraine in 2022. Yermokhin was placed in the care of a Russian foster family and enrolled in a “patriotic camp” program, where he was subjected to intense nationalist indoctrination. As he approached his 18th birthday, he received a summons from the Russian military recruiting office, which he saw as coercion to fight against his own people.
Yermokhin’s experience highlights the standard process for recruiting forcibly brought young Ukrainians into Russia, which includes forcing them to take Russian passports and compel them into military service. The actions of Russia have been condemned by Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, as part of an effort to erase Ukrainian identity and bolster its military ranks.
International human rights organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and Human Rights Watch have denounced Russia’s actions as violations of the Geneva Conventions and war crimes. The forced recruitment of young Ukrainians is a concerning violation of human rights and dignity that must be addressed immediately.
