**Ukraine Imposes Sanctions on Those Involved in Deporting Children**
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has taken a strong stand against those responsible for the deportation of Ukrainian children. On June 10, he imposed sanctions on 48 individuals and nine organizations associated with this crime.
According to official figures, over 19,500 Ukrainian children have been forcibly taken to Russia, Belarus, or occupied territories since February 2022. Unfortunately, only about 1,300 of them have been brought back to areas under Ukrainian control.
**The List of Sanctioned Individuals and Organizations**
One of the individuals on the sanctions list is Sergey Havrilchuk, who is in charge of a “Regional Center for Preparation for Military Service and Military-Patriotic Education” in Russian-occupied Crimea. He is also the head of the regional headquarters of Yunarmiya, a state-sponsored youth organization that combines ideological indoctrination with military training.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has accused Havrilchuk of organizing the abduction and illegal deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied territories under the guise of “rehabilitation, recreation, and education.” He also promotes the ideological re-education and militarization of children in Crimea.
Another individual on the list is Irina Ageeva, the children’s ombudsman in Russia’s Kaluga Oblast. She supports and implements the policy of deportation of Ukrainian children, particularly by disseminating information about children taken to Russia, granting them Russian citizenship, and placing them in families on the social network Vkontakte.
**Russian Organizations Also Targeted**
The sanctions list also features nine Russian organizations, including the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution “Artek International Children’s Center.” Before the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, Artek was a Ukrainian children’s camp. However, after the occupation of the peninsula, Russia took control of it.
Now, Artek is involved in the mass abduction, illegal deportation, and forced displacement of Ukrainian children. It organizes “rehabilitation, recreation, and education” and spreads information about the “peacekeeping and humanitarian” goals of Russia.
**Previous Sanction Packages**
This is not the first time Zelensky has imposed sanctions on those involved in the conflict. On May 25, he announced that three new sanction packages had come into effect, targeting propagandists, criminal networks, and Russian financiers.
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