The Council of the European Union on 28 September imposed sanctions on a further 10 individuals and 17 entities involved in the unlawful deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.
This is stated on the EU Council’s website.
The grounds for the restrictions also include the forced assimilation of Ukrainian children, ideological indoctrination and militarised upbringing.
The EU sanctions list includes the Moscow City Committee for Tourism and two Russian companies in the children’s recreation, tourism and entertainment sector, as well as a number of children’s camps and sports centres in Russia and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
According to the EU Council, they organised programmes linked to Russian history, military-patriotic education and propaganda.
The list also includes the Songdowon International Children’s Camp in North Korea. The camp takes part in organised programmes to transfer Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories, coordinated with Russia and aimed at spreading pro-Russian narratives.
Among the individuals sanctioned is the President of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov. The EU accuses him of facilitating the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children to camps in the region.
The list also includes occupation officials, including the so-called minister and deputy ministers of education and science in the temporarily occupied territories, the “minister of sport and tourism” of the “DPR” group, as well as heads of children’s camps and educational institutions.
The sanctions provide for asset freezes. EU citizens and companies are prohibited from making funds, financial assets or economic resources available to the listed persons and organisations. Individuals are also subject to an entry ban to EU countries and a ban on transit through their territory.
In the EU Council’s assessment, since the start of the full-scale war Russia has unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred more than 20,500 Ukrainian children.
- Canada imposed sanctions on eight Russians involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children. Those sanctioned include Russian officials, leaders of youth organisations and representatives of occupation administrations.