EU sanctions 10 individuals and 17 entities involved in the deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children

The new EU sanctions package covers officials of Russian occupation administrations, the head of Tatarstan, and children’s camps in Russia, temporarily occupied Crimea and North Korea. European Commissioner Dubravka Šuica announced it on 28 September at the Pathways to Peace conference in Toronto.

The European Union has imposed sanctions on 27 more actors. According to European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica, they are directly responsible for the deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children, as well as for their re-education and indoctrination. Šuica announced the package on 28 September at the Second International Conference on the Return of Ukrainian Children, Detained Civilians and Prisoners of War, Pathways to Peace, in Toronto. The conference was convened by Canada, Norway and Ukraine. The EU adopted the package the same day.

The list includes 10 individuals and 17 entities. Six of the individuals are officials of Russian occupation administrations in the temporarily occupied parts of the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Kherson regions and Crimea, working in education, sport and the so-called “children’s rights” field. The head of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, was also listed.

Most of the entities are children’s camps, “health” complexes and their operators in Russia and occupied Crimea. They include the Songdowon International Children’s Camp in Wonsan, North Korea. The Moscow City Tourism Committee, the Preobrazhensky Defence and Sports Centre, and the state Centre for the Study of the Youth Environment and Monitoring of Networks were also sanctioned. At least seven of the 27 had previously been sanctioned by the United States, the United Kingdom or Canada.

“A camp in occupied Crimea, a ‘health’ complex in the Rostov region, a children’s centre in North Korea — these are parts of one system through which Russia strips Ukrainian children of their language, their memory and their home. Sanctions alone will not bring children home. But everyone who removes, re-educates or militarises Ukrainian children must know that they will answer for it personally. We are grateful to the EU for this step and for supporting our work to find and return every child,” said Maksym Maksymov, Head of Bring Kids Back UA.

“Return and recovery must go hand in hand with justice. There can be no lasting peace without accountability, and today we delivered,” said Dubravka Šuica.

She said the EU has already mobilised €50 million to strengthen Ukraine’s child protection system. The EU will continue to support investigations through Eurojust and the Joint Investigation Team, as well as the Register of Damage, the future Claims Commission and the Special Tribunal. The Commissioner also highlighted the EU support for Bring Kids Back UA: “By supporting the Bring Kids Back UA project, we are helping to locate children, document violations, and reinforce prevention and accountability.”