Under the new EU restrictions, 10 people and 17 organizations were targeted, which Brussels considers involved in the removal, placement, and ideological re-education of Ukrainian children.
According to the Council of the EU, Rustam Minnikhanov facilitated the removal of children from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to camps in Tatarstan. The sanctions also affected representatives of structures that organize children's camps and programs of “patriotic” and military-patriotic education.
The list also includes the camps themselves, including the All-Russian Children's Center “Ocean” in Vladivostok and the international children's camp “Songdowon” in Wonsan in North Korea. In the document, “Songdowon” is described as a state institution that receives Ukrainian children from annexed territories.
The European Union says the trips were formally arranged as cultural exchange, but on site the children, according to the EU's assessment, were exposed to pro-Russian propaganda and involved in events with elements of paramilitary training. The sanctions provide for asset freezes in the European Union, entry and transit bans for individuals, as well as a ban on EU citizens and companies providing money and other resources to the listed individuals and organizations.
The Russian authorities deny the accusations of the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children and claim that they were evacuated from combat zones for safety. Vladimir Putin has stated that Russia does not prevent children from returning to Ukraine if their relatives are there. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and the Commissioner for Children's Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova; the court believes they may be responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia, and the Russian authorities called the court's decision legally void.
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