UK, EU, Canada Impose Coordinated Sanctions on Russian Networks Over Deportation and Militarization of Ukrainian Children

The UK, European Union, and Canada on May 11 imposed coordinated sanctions targeting Russian individuals and entities involved in the systematic deportation, forced assimilation, and militarization of Ukrainian children, announcing the measures at a high-level meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children in Brussels.

The UK imposed sanctions on 85 individuals and organizations, including the Center for Military Sports Training and Patriotic Education of Youth, known as the Warrior Centre, which Britain said subjects Ukrainian children to military training and pro-Kremlin ideology. The UK also sanctioned Yulia Velichko, the so-called minister for youth affairs in the self-proclaimed "Luhansk People's Republic" ("LPR"), for her role in implementing state-led initiatives for the deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children, including issuing Russian passports to children from temporarily occupied territories and organizing programs that expose them to Russian ideology. Additionally, the UK sanctioned 49 individuals working for the Social Design Agency (SDA), including writers, translators and video makers responsible for what the British government termed "deceptive Kremlin propaganda."

The EU sanctioned 16 individuals and seven entities, including the All-Russian Children's Centres Orlyonok, Scarlet Sails, and Smena — federal state institutions linked to the Russian Ministry of Education that the European Council said organize programs for Ukrainian children in which they are subjected to pro-Russian ideological indoctrination through "patriotic events, ideological education and military-oriented activities." The EU said Russia is estimated to have deported or forcibly displaced nearly 20,500 Ukrainian children since the start of its full-scale invasion. "These actions constitute grave breaches of international law and a violation of the fundamental rights of the child and aim to erase Ukrainian identity and undermine the preservation of its future generations," the European Council said.

Canada sanctioned 23 individuals and five entities. "Canada strongly condemns Russia's actions and is sanctioning an additional 23 individuals and five entities involved in the violations against Ukrainian children," the government announced. Canada called on Moscow to "immediately return Ukrainian children to their communities."

The sanctions were announced at a high-level meeting co-chaired by the EU, Ukraine, and Canada in Brussels. UK Sanctions Minister Stephen Doughty announced an additional GBP 1.2 million of UK funding for the Verification Center and Tracing Mechanism to help identify and locate Ukrainian children. Lithuania pledged more than €10 million to support initiatives related to the return of abducted children, as well as psychological and medical rehabilitation, strengthening the child protection system and ensuring accountability for crimes.

"Today's sanctions are a strong step in exposing and disrupting the depths Russia is willing to go," UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said: "There is new momentum for sanctions." Ukrainian Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk said the sanctions demonstrate "a shift from reacting to individual cases toward sanctioning the entire vertical structure — from officials and organizers to educational, youth, and military-patriotic institutions used to erase Ukrainian identity in the occupied territories."