The United Kingdom has imposed sanctions on a number of individuals involved in the forced deportation and "re-education" of Ukrainian children by Russia from the temporarily-occupied territories.

Source: the UK government’s press office, as reported by European Pravda

Details: A group of 10 individuals connected to the implementation of Russia's policy of forcibly deporting and re-educating Ukrainian children from the occupied oblasts have been targeted by the sanctions. The package was timed to mark the 1,000th day of the full-scale war.

The statement highlighted that over 19,500 Ukrainian minors have been forcibly taken to Russia or deeper into the occupied territories and about 6,000 of them have gone through "re-education" institutions.

Quote: "Russian authorities expose Ukrainian children to a curriculum that rewrites Russian and Ukrainian history, glorifies Russian military actions, and promotes allegiance to Russia – and in some cases involves military training."

"No child should ever be used as a pawn in war, yet President [sic] Putin’s targeting of Ukrainian children shows the depths he will go to in his mission to erase Ukraine and its people from the map," Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.

Sanctions have been imposed on the Yunarmia organisation, Nikita Nagorny, Igor Kazarezov, Andrey Sabinov, Serafim Ivanov, the Avangard organisation, Valentina Lavrik; Tetyana Zavalska, who is the appointed head of an orphanage in Kherson, where 46 children were taken to Russia for adoption; and Vitaliy Suk, the appointed head of an institution for children with disabilities in Oleshky.

Background:

• The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Kremlin ruler Putin and Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova in March 2023. They are suspected of committing war crimes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Similar charges may potentially be brought against Belarus' self-proclaimed president Alexander Lukashenko.

• At the end of October, a conference was held in Canada focusing on the Peace Formula section regarding the release of prisoners of war and the release of Ukrainians deported to Russia.

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