EU targets Russians with sanctions over the abduction of thousands of
Ukrainian children
[May 12, 2026]
By LORNE COOK
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on 16
officials accused of helping Russia to abduct tens of thousands of
children from Ukraine and force many to change their identities or be
put up for adoption.
Sanctions were also slapped on seven centers suspected of indoctrinating
the children or training them to serve in the armed forces, either for
Russia or pro-Russian militias inside Ukraine.
Over 130 people and “entities” are now under EU travel bans and asset
freezes over the abductions.
EU headquarters said the measures target “those responsible for the
systematic unlawful deportation, forced transfer, forced assimilation,
including indoctrination and militarized education, of Ukrainian minors,
as well as their unlawful adoption and removal to the Russian Federation
and within temporarily occupied territories.”
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022,
about 20,500 children have been unlawfully deported or forcibly
transferred to Russia or Russian-held territories in eastern Ukraine.
EU officials say many of the children are stripped of their Ukrainian
identity and culture, given Russian passports and put up for adoption.
Some are forced into schools for indoctrination or into military camps.
“Russia is trying to erase their identity,” Latvian Foreign Minister
Baiba Braže said Monday at a meeting with EU counterparts in Brussels,
where the sanctions were endorsed. “When you look at the Genocide
Convention, it’s one of the features of the genocide crime. So, it’s
very serious.”
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for
Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of
personal responsibility for the abductions.
Around 2,200 children have been returned, but identifying them is
complicated. Those taken at a young age can be difficult to recognize
just a few years later. Getting them home is a harrowing task, and while
Ukraine has reintegration structures in place some may face a long
period of adaption when they return.
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Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, right, speaks with the
media as he arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the
European Council building in Brussels, Monday, May 11, 2026. (AP
Photo/Virginia Mayo)
The EU on Monday was hosting, alongside Canada, a meeting of the
47-country International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian
Children to increase diplomatic pressure on Russia and rally support
for work to verify and trace those who are taken.
“War has really many faces, but stealing the children is really one
of the most horrific,” EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said
ahead of the gathering. “We should stop this, and Russia should
pay.”
The officials targeted by Monday’s sanctions include the heads of
children’s camps, government representatives and military officers
in charge of youth training.
One of the 16 named was Lilya Shvetsova, head of the “Red Carnation”
camp in occupied Crimea. The EU said she supervised “activities
aimed at shaping the political and ideological views of children
present at the facility, including Ukrainian children.”
Like others on the list, she was determined to be “supporting and
implementing actions and policies contributing to the deportation,
forced transfer, forced assimilation, including indoctrination, or
militarized education of Ukrainian minors.”
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