EU sanctions Russia over deported Ukrainian children

The European Union has imposed sanctions on 23 state institutions and officials responsible for Russia's "systematic unlawful deportation" of Ukrainian children.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has been accused of forcibly transferring around 20,000 children from parts of Ukraine seized by its army.

"Stealing children is not incidental. It is a deliberate Russian policy, a calculated attack on Ukraine's future," the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, told a press conference.

The EU sanctions target institutions and individuals involved in the running of programmes subjecting children to "pro-Russian indoctrination, including through patriotic events, ideological education, and military-oriented activities", the bloc said.

"These are the ones who 'rewire' the identity of Ukrainian children, help make them hate their homeland, and one day take up arms to fight against Ukraine," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, welcoming the move.

The sanctions, which include asset freezes and travel bans, were approved by the EU's 27 nations in coordination with Canada and Britain, which also announced similar measures today.

Ottawa's Foreign Minister Anita Anand was in Brussels alongside her Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga for a meeting of a coalition of countries pressing for the children's return.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023 over the abduction of Ukrainian children.

Kyiv says Russia has indoctrinated them, forced many to adopt Russian citizenship and tried to scrub them of their Ukrainian identity, accusations supported by testimony from Ukrainians who managed to leave Russian occupation.

Russia does not hide the fact that it took children under its control.

But says it did so for their own safety, moving them away from the frontline, and is willing to return them in cases where relatives come forward and can be verified.