BRUSSELS, May 11 (THE AFRICAN PORTAL) – The EU is sanctioning 16 individuals and seven entities over alleged child abductions. The UK also issued fresh sanctions, and Germany’s defense minister visited Kyiv amid a shaky ceasefire.
The European Council has announced new sanctions targeting 16 Russian individuals and seven entities “responsible for the systematic unlawful deportation, forced transfer, forced assimilation, including indoctrination and militarized education, of Ukrainian minors.”
It said they were also involved in “their unlawful adoption and removal to the Russian Federation and within temporarily occupied territories,” in reference to the areas internationally recognized as part of Ukraine under Russian control.
According to the Council, Russia is estimated to have deported and forcibly transported nearly 20,500 Ukrainian children.
“These actions constitute grave breaches of international law and a violation of the fundamental rights of the child and aim to erase Ukrainian identity and undermine the preservation of its future generations,” the European Council said.
This topic of child abduction also underpins the longstanding International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The EU listed several entities tied to the Russian Ministry of Education and individuals, including some working in occupied Ukrainian regions.
It said those listed were subject to asset freezes — and travel bans in the case of individuals — and that EU citizens and companies were forbidden from doing business with or providing funds to them.
The European Council is the arm of the EU that brings together all 27 heads of state or government of the member states. It needs to sign off on major foreign policy issues like bloc-wide sanctions.
Credit: DW
