AP, BRUSSELS
The EU 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.More than 130 people and “entities” are now under EU travel bans and asset freezes over the abductions.
EU Special Representative for Human Rights Kajsa Ollongren, left, speaks with Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Baiba Braze at a meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children at the European Council building in Brussels on Monday.
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.
