EU and UK sanction organizers of militarization of Ukrainian children in occupied territories

This was stated by Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk in a comment to Ukrinform.

“The new UK and EU sanctions demonstrate that international pressure is increasingly focused on Russia’s systematic policy toward Ukrainian children in the temporarily occupied territories – deportation, Russification, and militarization. The British package targets both structures involved in the forced transfer and indoctrination of children, as well as Russia’s information operations infrastructure,” he said.

Vlasiuk noted that “it is particularly significant that the Voin center was sanctioned, as it is one of the key instruments for the military training of children and youth, especially in the occupied territories.” Representatives of occupation administrations involved in passportization campaigns and ideological indoctrination of Ukrainian children were also targeted.

At the same time, another important block of sanctions concerns structures engaged in foreign information operations and influence campaigns. In particular, sanctions were imposed on Social Design Agency and ANO Dialog, organizations that operated in coordination with Russian state bodies and intelligence services.

“Meanwhile, the EU today also adopted a separate sanctions package related to the deportation and militarization of Ukrainian children. This is an important synchronization among partners,” the commissioner said.

According to him, the sanctions list includes not only officials but also organizations directly involved in the “re-education” and military-patriotic training of children. Among them are the Nakhimov Naval School, which has branches in Sevastopol and Mariupol, and the Avangard center, which participates in organizing the Zarnitsa 2.0 military-style games involving children from occupied territories.

“It is also important that the sanctions now extend beyond the regional or occupation level and include federal Russian officials,” Vlasiuk emphasized.

For example, Anastasia Akkuratova, Deputy Director of the Department for State Policy on Child Rights Protection at Russia’s Ministry of Education, was sanctioned. Restrictions were also imposed on Andranik Gasparyan, a Russian Armed Forces colonel and one of the main ideologues behind expanding the Voin center network into occupied territories.

The presidential adviser stressed that these measures indicate a deeper understanding among Ukraine’s partners of how the system of militarization and Russification of Ukrainian children operates.

“In practice, we are seeing a shift from reacting to individual cases toward sanctioning the entire vertical structure – from officials and organizers to educational, youth, and military-patriotic institutions used to erase Ukrainian identity in the occupied territories. It is also important that sanctions are increasingly being combined with practical response mechanisms,” he added.

In addition, Vlasiuk highlighted that the United Kingdom simultaneously announced additional funding for programs aimed at identifying and returning Ukrainian children. According to him, this means that “sanctions policy is increasingly moving from symbolic decisions toward concrete instruments of accountability and bringing children home.”

“It is also important that these decisions are being synchronized with Ukrainian sanctions. At the end of April, Ukraine had already imposed restrictions on individuals and entities involved in the deportation and Russification of Ukrainian children. This creates the foundation for further sanctions coordination among partners,” the commissioner concluded.

As reported by Ukrinform, the UK government imposed new sanctions on 85 individuals and legal entities involved in the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, as well as employees of the Russian IT company Social Design Agency, which produces Kremlin propaganda.