The European Union sanctioned 16 officials and seven Russian institutions Monday for systematically deporting Ukrainian children and enrolling them in pro-Russian indoctrination and basic military training programs.
The EU Council said Russia has deported or forcibly transferred approximately 20,500 Ukrainian children since February 2022. Around 2,200 have been returned. The fate of the remainder is unknown.
An estimated 20,000 Ukrainian children have been unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred to Russia.
This is criminal and wrong.
We are co-hosting the High-Level Meeting for the Return of Ukrainian Children. Alongside Ukraine, Canada, and EU countries, our goals are clear ↓ pic.twitter.com/tfVkusO37w
— European Commission (@EU_Commission) May 11, 2026
The seven sanctioned entities include the All-Russian Children’s Centres Orlyonok, Scarlet Sails, and Smena, federal institutions linked to Russia’s Ministry of Education. Also listed were the DOSAAF Centre in Sevastopol, the Nakhimov Naval School, and the Military-Patriotic Club “Patriot” in Crimea, which the Council said conduct activities consistent with basic military training frameworks for minors.
Among the 16 individuals is Lilya Shvetsova, head of the “Red Carnation” camp in Russian-occupied Crimea, whom the Council said supervised “activities aimed at shaping the political and ideological views of children present at the facility, including Ukrainian children.”
“Russia is trying to erase their identity,” Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said in Brussels. “When you look at the Genocide Convention, it’s one of the features of the genocide crime. So, it’s very serious.”
The designations coincided with a high-level meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children (ICRUC), co-hosted by the EU, Ukraine, and Canada and attended by representatives from approximately 50 countries.
“War has really many faces, but stealing the children is really one of the most horrific,” EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said. “We should stop this, and Russia should pay.”
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in March 2023 for the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children. ICC prosecutors have since confirmed the warrants remain in force regardless of peace talks.
