EU Targets Russians With Sanctions Over The Abduction Of Thousands Of Ukrainian Children

 

 

 

The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on 16 officials accused of helping Russia to abduct tens of thousands of children from Ukraine and force many to change their identities or be put up for adoption. Sanctions were also slapped on seven centers suspected of indoctrinating the children or training them to serve in the armed forces, either for Russia or pro-Russian militias inside Ukraine. Over 130 people and “entities” are now under EU travel bans and asset freezes over the abductions. EU headquarters said the measures target “those responsible for the systematic unlawful deportation, forced transfer, forced assimilation, including indoctrination and militarized education, of Ukrainian minors, as well as their unlawful adoption and removal to the Russian Federation and within temporarily occupied territories.”

 

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, about 20,500 children have been unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred to Russia or Russian-held territories in eastern Ukraine. EU officials say many of the children are stripped of their Ukrainian identity and culture, given Russian passports and put up for adoption. Some are forced into schools for indoctrination or into military camps.“Russia is trying to erase their identity,” Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said Monday at a meeting with EU counterparts in Brussels, where the sanctions were endorsed. “When you look at the Genocide Convention, it’s one of the features of the genocide crime. So, it’s very serious.”