On 11 May 2026, the European Union imposed sanctions on occupiers involved in the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children.

Those sanctioned include:

• Lilya Valerievna Shvetsova (11 July 1984) — head of the “Red Carnation” (“Krasnaya Gvozdika”) camp in occupied Berdyansk, a branch of the “Artek” camp network. She supports and implements policies contributing to the deportation, forced transfer, Russification, ideological indoctrination, and militarisation of Ukrainian children through the camp’s activities.
• Elena Vasilievna Romanovskaya (5 March 1966) — so-called “Deputy Chairman” of the occupation government of Crimea and “Minister of Labor and Social Protection”, as well as a member of the organising committee of “Artek”. She contributes to the forced assimilation, ideological indoctrination, and militarised education of Ukrainian minors through participation in Artek programmes and coordination of children’s camps.
• Andrey Pavlovich Sabinov (17 April 1975) — deputy of the so-called “Kherson Regional Duma” and head of the “Warrior” centre branch in Kherson region. He organises military-patriotic and ideological training of children in occupied Ukrainian territory.
• Aleksandra Aleksandrovna Bondareva (4 August 1968) — Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Astrakhan Oblast of the russian federation. She participated in the reception and transfer of Ukrainian children forcibly removed from occupied territories into russian families.
• Alevtina Vasilievna Andreeva (6 March 1983) — Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Murmansk region of the russian federation. She coordinates the reception, placement, “integration”, and ideological indoctrination of Ukrainian children deported from occupied territories.
• Alina Sergeevna Nikishaeva (21 November 2001) — head of the Simferopol military-patriotic club “Battalion Forpost”. She organises militarised and pro-russian upbringing of children in temporarily occupied Crimea.
• Igor Valerievich Zhuravlev (born 1972) — director of the All-russian Children’s Centre “Smena”. The centre participates in programmes aimed at the Russification, ideological indoctrination, and militarisation of Ukrainian children transferred from occupied territories.
• Andranik Sarkisovich Gasparyan (11 September 1983) — commander of the “Warrior” Centre for Military and Patriotic Training of Youth and colonel in the armed forces of the russian federation. He is responsible for the militarisation and ideological indoctrination of Ukrainian children in occupied territories.
• Igor Vorobyov — head of the Volgograd branch of the “Warrior” centre. He promotes military-patriotic upbringing and ideological indoctrination of Ukrainian minors.
• Egor Andreevich Logunov (born 1988) — so-called “Minister of Youth Policy” of the occupation administration in Zaporizhzhia region. He coordinates programmes of Russification, propaganda, and military-patriotic education targeting Ukrainian children.
• Marina Yuryevna Slonchenko (31 March 1991) — head of the so-called “Department for Youth Affairs of Sevastopol”. She organises propaganda and militarised activities for children and youth in occupied Crimea.
• Natalya Dadadzhonovna Shevchuk — head of several DOSAAF structures in Sevastopol. She oversees military-patriotic education, ideological indoctrination, and militarisation of Ukrainian children under the guise of “educational” and “humanitarian” programmes.
• Evgeniya Alexandrovna Grichenkova — head of the “Korsun” camp within the “Artek” system. She participates in programmes of Russification and ideological indoctrination of Ukrainian children.
• Dmitriy Evgenievich Shevchenko (20 February 1984) — director of the “Warrior” centre and former “Deputy Minister of Education” of the so-called “LPR”. He organises military training, firearms instruction, and drone operation courses for children and youth in occupied territories.
• Aleksey Sergeevich Zinchenko (24 February 1995) — head of the so-called “State Committee for Youth Policy of Crimea”. He promotes Russification, militarisation of education, and recruitment of Crimean youth into the russian army.
• Anastasia Pavlovna Akkuratova (21 May 1978) — deputy director of the Department of State Policy in the Field of Children’s Rights Protection at the russian Ministry of Education. She coordinates procedures for placing deported Ukrainian children into russian families and registering them in russian orphan databases.

The sanctions also target several organisations:

• The All-russian Children’s Centre “Smena” — a russian state children’s centre linked to the Ministry of Education of the russian federation. It hosts Ukrainian children deported from occupied territories and participates in their Russification, ideological indoctrination, and militarised upbringing.
• The “Avangard” Military Camp — a military-patriotic training centre for children in Volgograd region linked to the russian authorities. It organises military training, discipline, and political propaganda programmes for Ukrainian children.
• The Regional Branch of DOSAAF Russia in Sevastopol — a structure created with support from the president of the russian federation that conducts military-patriotic training for children in occupied Crimea. It carries out ideological indoctrination, military preparation, and drone-related instruction.
• The Military-Patriotic Club “Patriot” — an organisation operating in occupied Crimea that, under the guise of “humanitarian” and “peacebuilding” initiatives, engages in the Russification, militarisation, and ideological indoctrination of Ukrainian children.
• The Nakhimov Naval School of the Ministry of Defense of the russian federation — a russian military educational institution preparing minors for military service. Its branches in Sevastopol and Mariupol involve Ukrainian children in military programmes, drill training, weapons instruction, and pro-russian propaganda.
• The All-russian Children’s Centre “Orlyonok” — a federal children’s centre implementing programmes in cooperation with occupation administrations. It organises military-patriotic activities and meetings with participants in the war against Ukraine for Ukrainian children.
• The All-russian Children’s Centre “Scarlet Sails” (“Alye Parusa”) — a state children’s centre of the russian federation located in occupied Crimea. It conducts programmes of pro-russian upbringing, ideological indoctrination, and military-patriotic activities for Ukrainian children.

In addition to the European Union, the United Kingdom (85 individuals and entities) and Canada (23 individuals and five organisations) announced new sanctions packages on 11 May.

“I am grateful for the principled position and for the fact that sanctions pressure continues. Our partners took into account many of our proposals, including provisions from the Ukrainian sanctions package introduced several weeks ago. We must continue working together to bring all Ukrainian children home and ensure that everyone behind these crimes is held accountable,” President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

On 23 April 2026, the Council of the European Union imposed sanctions on five individuals involved in the deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children, as well as four individuals responsible for the theft of Ukraine’s cultural heritage.

On 16 March 2026, marking the fourth anniversary of the Bucha massacre, the Council of the European Union imposed sanctions on nine russian military personnel involved in crimes committed in Bucha and the neighbouring towns of Hostomel, Irpin, and Borodianka in February–March 2022.

On 20 November 2025, the Council of the European Union imposed sanctions on four citizens of the russian federation responsible for serious human rights violations in russian prisons where Ukrainian citizens are detained. Among the documented torture cases was the death of Ukrainian investigative journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna in September 2024 as a result of abuse in Taganrog Detention Centre No. 2, which became one of the key facilities in russia’s torture system.