On Monday, 28 September, the Council of the EU approved sanctions against an additional 10 individuals and 17 entities responsible for the unlawful deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia and within the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
The decision was announced in a press release by the Council of the EU.
The measures target those responsible for the systematic unlawful deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia and within temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, as well as their forced assimilation, including ideological indoctrination and militarised education.
Among the entities added to the sanctions list are the Moscow City Tourism Committee and two Russian companies operating in the fields of children’s recreation, tourism and entertainment. The companies organise activities focused on Russian history, the commemoration of war and military-patriotic education.
Sanctions were also imposed on children’s camps and sports centres in Russia and temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories over their role in cultural reorientation, propaganda-based education and military-patriotic activities aimed at integrating children into a Russian identity framework, according to the press release.
The EU sanctions package also includes the Songdowon International Children’s Camp in North Korea. The camp participates in organised programmes involving the transfer of Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, in coordination with Russia, with the aim of promoting pro-Russian narratives.
The sanctions list also includes Tatarstan leader Rustam Minnikhanov for facilitating the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children to camps located in the region; ministers and deputy ministers of education and science in some occupied Ukrainian territories; the minister of sports and tourism of the so-called “DPR”; and heads of children’s camps and schools for facilitating ideological indoctrination.
Those listed are subject to asset freezes, while EU citizens and companies are prohibited from making funds, financial assets or economic resources available to them. The listed individuals are also subject to travel bans preventing them from entering or transiting through EU territory.
