UK Imposes Sanctions Over Forced Deportation of Ukrainian Children

New UK Sanctions Target Russia

According to Главком: The British government has expanded its sanctions list against Russia, targeting 85 individuals and entities held responsible for the forced deportation, militarization, and re-education of Ukrainian children in occupied territories. These measures rank among the toughest actions London has taken to counter hostile Russian activities and aim to disrupt malicious information warfare campaigns.

List of New Designees

The newly sanctioned parties include:

• Top managers of the Dialogue autonomous non-profit organization;
• Head of the Russian Youth Affairs Agency Grigory Gurov;
• So-called LNR Minister of Youth Policy Yulia Velichko;
• Member of the DNR People's Council and mixed martial arts fighter Maxim Shvets;
• Children's Rights Commissioner for the Novosibirsk Region Nadezhda Boltenko;
• Employees of the Social Engineering Agency.

At the center of the new list is Yulia Velichko, the self-proclaimed youth policy minister of the LNR. The UK government stated that all listed assets must be frozen, and individuals are banned from entering Britain. According to British authorities, over 20,000 children have been forcibly deported to Russia, with roughly 6,000 held in a network of re-education camps.

Legal entities included in the sanctions list are:

• Voin Center;
• Expert Institute for Social Research;
• Internet Development Institute;
• EUROVIEW media outlet;
• Govorit Evropa (Speaking Europe);
• Sevastopol State University;
• Zdrávnitsa sanatorium, located in occupied Crimea.

The UK government emphasized that these sanctions target activities undermining democratic processes and global support for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the European Union is preparing to expand its blacklist of individuals involved in child deportations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also signed sanction decrees against Russian entities, including a first package imposing restrictions on 20 individuals and four legal entities.

“As Russia relentlessly seeks to undermine the democratic process and global support for Ukraine, this latest tranche of sanctions is aimed at combating malicious information warfare campaigns,” the UK government stated.

These new measures reflect a growing international response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine, particularly regarding violations of children’s rights. As the conflict continues and evidence of forced child deportations mounts, such steps are designed not only to punish those responsible but also to draw global attention to the crisis. The expansion of sanctions by both the UK and the EU signals Western nations’ readiness to intensify efforts against Russian aggression and bolster support for Ukraine.

As the UK intensifies its measures against Russia, the European Union is also set to broaden its sanctions targeting individuals involved in the forced deportation of Ukrainian children. This coordinated response highlights the growing international consensus on the need to address these grave violations. For more details on the EU's upcoming actions, see the EU's planned sanctions expansion.