The EU imposed sanctions on Russian organizations and officials implicated in the abduction of Ukrainian children and their forced “re-education.”
Russian state media have amplified a fabricated claim that “decaying Europe” has sanctioned “children” and “their rescuers.” The propaganda campaign has escalated to open threats against EU member states: “The special military operation must end in our victory — there is no other way to stop the arbitrary imposition of sanctions against Russian children.”
The pro-Kremlin media offensive followed the expansion of the EU’s sanctions list. The measures target Russian organizations and institutions involved in the abduction, Russification, and militarization of Ukrainian children illegally transferred to Russia.
On May 11, the EU Council extended restrictive measures to 16 additional individuals and seven entities for actions undermining Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence. The updated list includes the children’s camps Orlyonok, Alye Parusa, and Smena, a DOSAAF facility in Sevastopol, the Nakhimov Naval Academy, and the Military-Patriotic Club “Patriot” in Crimea — all used by the Kremlin to disseminate propaganda among minors and youth.
None of these organizations have any connection to child welfare or education — their function is the militarization of young people in Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories. According to the EU Council, the facilities operated on Kremlin orders to “re-educate” abducted Ukrainian children, subjecting minors to pro-Russian ideological conditioning with an explicit military character.
The UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine concluded in March that Russian authorities had committed crimes against humanity through the deportation and forcible transfer of children, as well as their enforced disappearance. The Commission documented a systematic pattern of Russian authorities refusing to disclose children’s whereabouts to parents or guardians while forcibly detaining minors to prevent their return.
Ukraine has documented more than 20,570 cases of deportation and forced displacement of children by Russia, though officials believe the true figure is substantially higher. A further 1.6 million Ukrainian children remain under Russian control — deported, forcibly displaced, or trapped in occupied territory. As of May, just 2,161 had been returned to Ukraine.
In December 2025, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution demanding that Russia immediately and unconditionally return all illegally displaced and deported Ukrainian children.
In June 2023, the United Nations added Russia to its list of states violating children’s rights. The International Criminal Court followed on March 17, 2023, issuing arrest warrants for President Putin and children’s rights commissioner Lvova-Belova on the grounds that both bear responsibility for the abduction and illegal deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied Ukrainian territory.
For further reading, see StopFake’s previous fact-checks: “Fake: Russia Is ‘Protecting’ Ukrainian Children,” “Fake: Russia’s ‘Evacuation’ Is Not a War Crime,” and “Fake: Ukraine Is ‘Lying’ About Russia Abducting 20,000 Children.”
