EU sanctions Russians over Ukrainian child transfers

The European Union imposed sanctions Monday on 27 Russian individuals and entities over what it said were roles in transferring Ukrainian children to Russia and barring the anti-war Yabloko party from a recent vote.

The measures include asset freezes and travel bans. EU member states said the targeted people and organisations played a role in the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia, as well as their “forced assimilation” and “militarised education”.

The sanctions target the Moscow City Tourism Committee and two Russian companies involved in children's recreation. The European Council said they helped organise activities focused on Russian history, war commemorations and military-patriotic education.

The EU also sanctioned sports centres in Russia and a state-run children's camp in North Korea, where Brussels said Ukrainian children were taken to promote pro-Russian narratives.

Since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has been accused of forcibly transferring about 20,000 children from areas of Ukraine seized by its army. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023 over the alleged abduction of Ukrainian children.

The EU also sanctioned prosecutors and judges, including three Russian supreme court justices, over their involvement in barring Yabloko from tightly controlled parliamentary elections this month.