The EU imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation for the abduction of Ukrainian children – 16 more individuals and 7 legal entities were included

On May 11, 2026, the Council of the European Union announced new sanctions against individuals and organizations that the EU associates with the illegal deportation, forced relocation, and ‘re-education’ of Ukrainian children taken by Russia from occupied territories of Ukraine. The decision was made in Brussels on the day of a high-level meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, jointly promoted by the EU, Ukraine, and Canada.

Another 16 individuals and 7 legal entities were subjected to restrictions. The European formulation refers not to isolated incidents, but to a systemic practice: deportation, forced assimilation, ideological indoctrination, militarized upbringing, illegal adoption, and the removal of children to Russia or temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

What exactly did the European Union decide on May 11, 2026

The EU Council expanded the sanctions list under the regime related to actions undermining the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine. This means that the new measures are legally tied not only to the issue of human rights but also to the Russian war against Ukraine as an attempt to destroy Ukrainian statehood.

The sanctions provide for asset freezes. EU citizens and companies are prohibited from providing those on the list with money, financial assets, or economic resources. For individuals, there is also a ban on entry and transit through the territory of the European Union.

Importantly, the EU separately highlighted the child factor. The Council’s statement says that since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, an estimated nearly 20,500 Ukrainian children have been deported or forcibly relocated. Brussels qualifies such actions as gross violations of international law and fundamental children’s rights.

Where it happened and why the date is important

The decision was announced on May 11, 2026, in Brussels, against the backdrop of a high-level meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children. According to EEAS, the meeting was specifically planned in Brussels and was intended to gather partners to discuss practical steps: finding children, returning them to families, rehabilitation, and holding those responsible accountable.

This is not a random political backdrop. The EU effectively combined diplomatic pressure and the sanctions tool in one day: on one side — the coalition for the return of children, on the other — personal and institutional restrictions against those who, according to the EU, are embedded in the mechanism of their assimilation.

Against whom the sanctions were imposed and based on which document

The new EU restrictions were imposed based on the decision of the Council of the European Union CFSP 2026/1072 of May 11, 2026, published in the Official Journal of the European Union. This document amends the previous sanctions decision 2014/145/CFSP, which concerns measures against actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine.

It is in the annex to decision 2026/1072 that the EU officially added 16 individuals and 7 organizations to the sanctions list. The basis is their participation in the system of illegal deportation, forced relocation, forced assimilation, ideological indoctrination, militarized upbringing, and illegal adoption of Ukrainian children taken from occupied territories of Ukraine.

Who was added to the list

Individuals — 16 people

1. Lilya Valerievna Shvetsova / Лилия Валерьевна Швецова
   Head of the camp “Red Carnation” associated with “Artek” in occupied Berdyansk.
   Basis: participation in programs of ideological indoctrination, pro-Russian upbringing, and militarized training of Ukrainian children.
2. Elena Vasilievna Romanovskaya / Елена Васильевна Романовская
   Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the so-called Republic of Crimea, ‘Minister of Labor and Social Protection’ of occupied Crimea, member of the federal organizing committee of ‘Artek’.
   Basis: participation in the implementation of programs for children and distribution of places in ‘Artek’ and other camps.
3. Andrey Pavlovich Sabinov / Андрей Павлович Сабинов
   Deputy of the so-called ‘Regional Duma’ in occupied Kherson region, curator of the center “Warrior” / Voin in Kherson.
   Basis: promotion of programs of ideological and militarized training of minors.
4. Aleksandra Aleksandrovna Bondareva / Александра Александровна Бондарева
   Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Astrakhan region.
   Basis: participation in the reception and placement of Ukrainian children forcibly relocated from occupied territories of Ukraine into Russian families.
5. Alevtina Vasilievna Andreeva / Алевтина Васильевна Андреева
   Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Murmansk region.
   Basis: coordination of reception, placement, education, and ‘integration’ of children, including minors from occupied territories of Ukraine.
6. Alina Sergeevna Nikishaeva / Алина Сергеевна Никишаева
   Head of the Simferopol military-patriotic club “Battalion Outpost”, deputy commander of the 147th Guards Simferopol self-propelled artillery regiment of the Russian Armed Forces, member of the ‘United Russia’ party.
   Basis: militarized and ideological upbringing of minors in occupied Crimea.
7. Igor Valerievich Zhuravlev / Игорь Валерьевич Журавлев
   Director of the All-Russian Children’s Center “Smena”.
   Basis: the center receives Ukrainian minors taken from occupied territories and participates in programs of Russification, ideological indoctrination, and militarized upbringing.
8. Andranik Sarkisovich Gasparyan / Андраник Саркисович Гаспарян
   Commander of the Center for Military-Patriotic Training and Education of Youth “Warrior”, colonel of the Russian Armed Forces.
   Basis: leadership of a structure that conducts military-patriotic training of youth, including in occupied territories of Ukraine.
9. Igor Vorobyov / Игорь Воробьев
   Head of the Volgograd regional branch of the center “Warrior”, former officer of the Federal Penitentiary Service, veteran of Russian operations against Ukraine.
   Basis: participation in programs of military and patriotic training of youth related to Russian aggression against Ukraine.
10. Egor Andreevich Logunov / Егор Андреевич Логунов
    So-called ‘Minister of Youth Policy’ of occupied Zaporizhzhia region.
    Basis: implementation of youth policy of the occupation authorities aimed at Russification, pro-Russian ideological indoctrination, and preparing youth for service to the Russian state.
11. Marina Yuryevna Slonchenko / Марина Юрьевна Слонченко
    Head of the so-called ‘Department for Youth Affairs of the City of Sevastopol’.
    Basis: support for programs promoting Russian ideological narratives among children and youth in occupied Sevastopol.
12. Natalya Dadadzhonovna Shevchuk / Наталья Дададжоновна Шевчук
    Head of the regional branch of DOSAAF Russia in Sevastopol and a number of related military-patriotic structures.
    Basis: participation in ‘re-education’, ideological indoctrination, and militarization of children in occupied Crimea.
13. Evgeniya Alexandrovna Grichenkova / Евгения Александровна Гриченкова
    Head of the camp “Korsun”, part of the ‘Artek’ structure.
    Basis: leadership of a camp where, according to the EU, Ukrainian children from occupied territories are subjected to Russification and ideological indoctrination.
14. Dmitriy Evgenievich Shevchenko / Дмитрий Евгеньевич Шевченко
    Also: Dmitry Evgenievich Shevchenko.
    Director of the center “Warrior”, former deputy ‘Minister of Education and Science’ of the so-called LPR.
    Basis: organization of military-patriotic training of children and youth, including training in handling weapons and drones.
15. Aleksey Sergeevich Zinchenko / Алексей Сергеевич Зинченко
    Also: Alexey Sergeevich Zinchenko; Ukrainian spelling: Олексій Сергійович Зінченко.
    Head of the so-called State Committee for Youth Policy of the Republic of Crimea since July 2022, member of ‘United Russia’.
    Basis: participation in Russification, militarization of youth in Crimea, promotion of Russian patriotic projects, and support for involving youth in the Russian army.
16. Anastasia Pavlovna Akkuratova / Анастасия Павловна Аккуратова
    Deputy Director of the Department of State Policy in the Field of Children’s Rights Protection of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, Director of the Federal Institution “Center for the Protection of Children’s Rights and Interests”.
    Basis: participation in guardianship procedures, registration, legalization of adoption by Russian families, and relocation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Legal entities and organizations — 7 structures

1. All Russian Children’s Centre “Smena” / Всероссийский детский центр «Смена»
   Also: Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution All Russian Children’s Centre “Smena”, ФГБОУ ВДЦ «Смена».
   Location: Krasnodar region, Anapa, Sukko village.
   Basis: reception of Ukrainian minors from occupied territories, ideological indoctrination, Russification, and militarized upbringing.
2. Avangard Military Camp / Военно-патриотический центр «Авангард»
   Location: Volgograd region, Russian Federation.
   Basis: placement of Ukrainian children relocated from occupied territories and involvement in programs of political indoctrination, military-type discipline, and cadet upbringing.
3. Regional Branch of DOSAAF Russia in the City of Sevastopol / Региональное отделение ДОСААФ россии в городе Севастополе
   Location: Sevastopol, temporarily occupied Crimea.
   Basis: military-patriotic clubs, training, programs with drones, pre-conscription training, and formation of loyalty to Russian armed structures.
4. Military-Patriotic Club “Patriot” / Военно-патриотический клуб «Патриот»
   Location: Yevpatoria, temporarily occupied Crimea.
   Basis: ‘re-education’, ideological indoctrination, and militarization of minors under the guise of humanitarian and peacekeeping programs.
5. Federal State Public Educational Institution “Nakhimov Naval School of the Order of Honor of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation” / Нахимовское военно-морское училище Министерства обороны рф
   Also: Nakhimov Naval School, NVMU, НВМУ.
   Main address: St. Petersburg; the document separately mentions branches in Sevastopol and Mariupol.
   Basis: preparation of minors for military service, military classes, weapons training, Russian-language education, and ideological indoctrination of Ukrainian children.
6. Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution All-Russian Children’s Centre “Orlyonok” / Всероссийский детский центр «Орленок»
   Location: Krasnodar region, Tuapse.
   Basis: coordination of programs with occupation authorities and federal structures of the Russian Federation, reception of minors from occupied Ukrainian regions, promotion of Russian state narratives, and military-patriotic upbringing.
7. Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution All-Russian Children’s Centre “Scarlet Sails” / Всероссийский детский центр «Алые паруса»
   Also: Alye Parusa.
   Location: Yevpatoria, temporarily occupied Crimea.
   Basis: programs under the control of the Russian Ministry of Education and occupation authorities, pro-Russian ideological indoctrination, patriotic events, and military-oriented activities for Ukrainian children.

Outcome: the decision of the EU Council 2026/1072 of May 11, 2026, establishes a complete sanctions block: 16 people and 7 organizations associated, according to the European Union, with illegal deportation, forced relocation, Russification, ideological indoctrination, and militarization of Ukrainian children taken from occupied territories of Ukraine.

In the EU document, these structures are described not as ordinary children’s institutions, but as elements of a system where Ukrainian minors are subjected to pro-Russian ideological indoctrination, Russification, military-patriotic programs, military-type discipline, and preparation for loyalty to the Russian state.

For the article, the main conclusion is important: Brussels sanctioned not an abstract ‘Russian system’, but specific people and specific institutions. This turns the topic of the abduction of Ukrainian children from a general political formula into a legally fixed list of executors, curators, and platforms associated with the forced change of children’s identity.

For the Israeli audience, this topic sounds especially painful. Israel understands well that the destruction of identity begins not only with physical violence. It can go through language, documents, school, camps, forced upbringing, and an attempt to tear a child away from family, memory, and people. That is why НАновости — Новости Израиля | Nikk.Agency considers this story not only as a Ukrainian tragedy but as an issue that directly concerns the Jewish experience, the memory of abducted children, destroyed families, and the struggle for the right of a people to preserve themselves.

Why it is called not evacuation, but a criminal system

Russia tries to present the removal of children as ‘protection’ or ‘rescue’. But the European position is built on something else: children were taken from occupied territories, often without a transparent procedure, without the consent of legal representatives, with a change of environment, documents, and further ideological indoctrination.

That is why the EU documents use the terms ‘illegal deportation’, ‘forced relocation’, ‘forced assimilation’, and ‘illegal adoption’. This is the language not of humanitarian evacuation, but of violations of international law.

What this changes for Ukraine, Europe, and Israel

The new sanctions do not automatically return the children. They do not open the doors of camps and do not give families an immediate answer as to where a specific child is. But they do something important: they fix names, organizations, and the mechanism of responsibility.

For Ukraine, this is part of a long struggle for the return of minors who were taken to Russia or are being held in occupied lands. For Europe, it is a signal that Russia’s war is seen not only as a conflict over territories but as an attack on the future of the Ukrainian people.

For Israel, this plot is important also because it shows how modern war works with the civilian population. Children become a target not because they participate in hostilities, but because they are carriers of future identity. When an aggressor state takes children, changes their environment, documents, language, and education system, it strikes at the next generation.

Why sanctions against camps and officials make sense

Personal sanctions often seem like a weak tool against the backdrop of a big war. But in such matters, they are important as a legal marking. A person or organization can no longer hide behind the general formula ‘the system decided so’. The EU shows: the system has specific executors, directors, officials, political curators, and institutions.

That is why the list includes not only politicians from occupied territories but also leaders of youth camps, military-patriotic clubs, and organizations involved in teaching children Russian military culture. In the future, such lists may be significant for judicial processes, international investigations, and diplomatic pressure.

The final meaning of the EU decision is simple: the topic of Ukrainian children should not disappear from the international agenda. As long as thousands of families do not know where their children are, any talk of ‘normalizing’ relations with Russia remains morally and politically incomplete.