EU sanctions 10 individuals and 17 organizations over deportation of Ukrainian children
On 28 September the Council of the European Union adopted sanctions against 10 additional individuals and 17 organizations linked to the systematic illegal deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia and within temporarily occupied territories. The package also covers forced assimilation through ideological indoctrination and militarised education, and includes a North Korean state children's camp.
Key points
- Council of the EU adopted sanctions on 28 September against 10 additional individuals and 17 organizations.
- Measures target actors responsible for systematic deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia and within occupied territories, including forced assimilation via ideological indoctrination and militarised education.
- Sanctioned organizations include the Moscow City Tourism Committee, two Russian companies in children's recreation/tourism/entertainment, children's camps and sports centres in Russia and on occupied territories, and North Korea's Songdowon International Children's Camp.
- Sanctioned individuals include Rustam Minnikhanov (President of the Republic of Tatarstan), the minister and deputy ministers of education and science of certain occupied territories, the 'minister of sport and tourism' of the self-proclaimed 'Donetsk People's Republic', and heads of children's camps and schools there.
- Sanctions entail asset freezes, a prohibition on EU citizens and companies providing funds or economic resources to the listed persons, and for natural persons a ban on entering or transiting through EU territory.
- On 22 September the Council of the EU extended the underlying sanctions framework for another 36 months but removed Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the list.
- According to the Bring Kids Back platform, Russia has deported more than 20,000 Ukrainian children since the full-scale invasion, with over 2,500 returned as of September 2026.
Why it matters
The package extends EU restrictive measures explicitly to the ideological and militarised re-education of deported Ukrainian children, not only their physical transfer, and brings a North Korean state camp into the sanctions orbit. It also lands alongside a separate 22 September EU decision that renewed the underlying framework for 36 months while delisting two prominent Russian oligarchs, illustrating how individual designations can move in opposite directions within the same sanctions regime.
What happened
On 28 September the Council of the European Union adopted a decision imposing sanctions on an additional 10 individuals and 17 organizations. The measures target persons and entities responsible for the systematic illegal deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation and within temporarily occupied territories, and for forced assimilation including ideological indoctrination and militarised education.
Among the sanctioned organizations are the Moscow City Tourism Committee, two Russian companies providing children's recreation, tourism and entertainment services that organise events devoted to Russian history, war commemoration and military-patriotic upbringing, and children's camps and sports centres in Russia and on temporarily occupied territories for their role in propagandistic upbringing and cultural events aimed at integrating children into a Russian identity framework. The package also lists Songdowon International Children's Camp, a state institution in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which according to the Council participates in organised programmes involving the transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied territories in coordination with Russia and aimed at spreading pro-Russian narratives.
Among the sanctioned individuals are Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan, sanctioned for facilitating the deportation of children to facilities in his region; the minister and deputy ministers of education and science of certain occupied territories; the 'minister of sport and tourism' of the self-proclaimed 'Donetsk People's Republic'; and heads of children's camps and schools there. Sanctioned individuals face asset freezes, a ban on EU persons and companies providing them with funds, financial assets or economic resources, and for natural persons a prohibition on entering or transiting through EU territory.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian reporting frames the package squarely around the deportation and 'russification' of children, emphasising that 10 individuals and 17 organisations have been added to the list. Ukrainian outlets also add domestic context, citing Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets on the number of identified deported children and referencing the Bring Kids Back platform. Sources note that the EU Council figure cited in Ukrainian reporting places the total at more than 20,500 children deported, slightly above the more than 20,000 figure used in other reporting.
Where reporting differs
Sources cite different totals for the number of Ukrainian children deported since the full-scale invasion: Ukrainian reporting references an EU Council figure of more than 20,500, while other reporting uses the Bring Kids Back platform's figure of more than 20,000.
Background
According to the Bring Kids Back platform, Russia has deported more than 20,000 Ukrainian children since the start of the full-scale invasion, with over 2,500 returned as of September 2026. On 17 March 2023 the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's commissioner for children's rights, over the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia.