Ukrainian orphan abducted by Russia tells of how he escaped Putin’s grasp

After Russian forces gained full control of the city they swept through to “clear the land”, as Mr Yermokhin put it, checking for remaining Ukrainian fighters. They made a list of the orphans who had been left behind, before later taking them from their shelters and sending them to Donetsk, one of two self-proclaimed Russia-aligned republics.

There, they stayed in a local hospital for a month. Mr Yermokhin believes it was to add an air of legitimacy to the transfer, so that Russia could claim it was administering medical care to the children. However, he was neither sick nor hurt and received no treatment, he said.

He did not want to comment on the details of his journeys into Donetsk or Russia owing to an ongoing investigation. However, he did say the children were not told why they were being moved or what would happen next.

Local media previously reported that he was transferred to Russia via bus and plane.

Put up first in a summer camp, most of the children were then adopted or fostered by state workers – Mr Yermokhin was taken in by Irina Rudnitska, an assistant to the country’s former human rights ombudsman, Tatyana Moskalkova.

While an investigation is ongoing, he is limited in what he can say about his stay in Russia. His foster family treated him well, although they were heavily influenced by the Russian narrative, and the children were put into the local education system and issued citizenship – they were not asked for their permission.

‘The moment I saw him I realised he’s mine’

Mr Yermokhin said the Russians tried to gain his trust, treating him nicely at first, but things deteriorated over time when he retained his positivity towards Ukraine – he would regularly argue with those around him and it was a constant psychological strain.

The Mariupol 31 were quickly turned into a propaganda tool for Moscow to “prove” they had saved the city.

Mr Yermokhin’s best friend, Pylyp Holovnya, became a poster boy for Russia’s so-called rescue missions when he was adopted by Maria Lvova-Belova, the ombudsman for children’s rights.

A half-hour documentary called This Is My Child broadcast on a nationalist TV channel last year told the story of Mr Holovnya’s removal from Mariupol, with Mrs Lvova-Belova declaring: “The moment I spoke to him I realised he’s mine: this is my child.”

A few months before, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Mrs Lvova-Belova, as well as Putin, over the unlawful removal of Ukraine’s children.

Mr Holovnya’s friends and relatives have said they believe he was taken to Russia against his will. Mr Yermokhin described Lvova-Belova as a “two-faced person” who plays up to Russian TV cameras but is not so nice when they leave.

“She is a terrorist and a liar like Putin,” said Mr Yermokhin. “When asked one time why civilians had to die in Ukraine, she answered: ‘It’s God’s will.’”