The EU has imposed sanctions on 16 individuals and seven entities it says are responsible for the unlawful deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia and to territories of Ukraine under Russian occupation.
The measures were adopted by the Council of the EU on the day of a high-level meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, the Council said on Monday.
Russia is estimated to have deported and forcibly transferred nearly 20,500 Ukrainian children since the start of its full-scale invasion.
The Council said the people and organisations listed were involved in the “systematic” deportation, forced transfer and assimilation of Ukrainian minors, including indoctrination, militarised education, unlawful adoption and removal to the Russian Federation and within occupied areas.
Who was sanctioned and what the measures mean
Among the entities sanctioned are federal state institutions linked to Russia’s Ministry of Education, including the All-Russian Children’s Centres Orlyonok, Scarlet Sails and Smena, the Council said.
It also listed the DOSAAF Centre in Sevastopol, the Nakhimov Naval School and the Military-Patriotic Club “Patriot” in Crimea, saying they were involved in programmes described as re-education, ideological indoctrination and militarisation of minors.
The sanctions include an asset freeze and a ban on EU citizens and companies making funds or other economic resources available to those listed, while the individuals are also subject to travel bans preventing them from entering or transiting through the EU.
The latest listings also include officials and politicians from territories the EU says are illegally occupied by Russia, as well as heads of youth camps and military-patriotic clubs.
EU leaders called on Russia and Belarus in March 2026 to ensure the safe and unconditional return to Ukraine of all unlawfully deported and transferred Ukrainian children and other civilians, according to a European Council text cited by the Council of the EU.
