US Sanctions Russians for Deporting Children from Ukraine

In response to what rights organizations claim to be the forcible relocation of thousands of Ukrainian children since Moscow’s invasion, the United States on Thursday placed further penalties on Russian officials and organizations.

The sanctions were announced by the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, as she presided over a Security Council meeting on the day of Ukrainian Independence.

She said that “Russia’s campaign of cruelty continues today.”

The US “won’t watch as Russia commits these war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

A number of regional commissioners for “children’s rights” were among the 11 Russians the US said it was sanctioning. The sanctions freeze any US assets and make any dealings with them illegal.

The Artek “summer camp” in Crimea, which Russia allegedly used to re-educate youngsters in Chechnya and took from Ukraine in a move that was not recognized internationally, was also the subject of the sanctions.

Additionally, the State Department said that it will limit visas for three Russians implicated in the forceful removal of kids from Ukrainian territory under Moscow’s authority.

When the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March, it made reference to the relocation of minors.

The prosecutor of the Hague-based court has received sanctions from Russia, who has refuted the accusations.

According to Russian officials, foster care has been provided for children from regions affected by war in secure places.

However, according to representatives of Ukraine and human rights organizations, Russia has deported hundreds of kids, including infants, against the wishes of their parents in an effort to brainwash them and recruit older kids in military training.

“You will hear Russian government representatives claim that the transfers of youngsters are ‘humanitarian evacuations.’ However, this is a grotesque distortion of reality and a fruitless effort to excuse the inexplicable, according to Thomas-Greenfield.