EU sanctions 27 individuals and entities over deportation of Ukrainian children, in North Korea-linked package

EU countries on Monday imposed sanctions against 10 individuals and 17 entities for their involvement in the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, extending the measures for the first time to a children’s camp in North Korea.

The list includes Moscow’s City Tourism Committee, children’s camps and sports camps in Russia and the Songdowon International Children’s Camp in North Korea, where the European Council said Ukrainian children are brought to promote pro-Russian narratives.

The 27 listings were adopted hours before the start of an international summit on the issue in Toronto, according to the Kyiv Independent, which opened the European Council statement first-hand. The designations target those involved in Russia’s abduction and indoctrination of more than 20,000 Ukrainian children since the start of the war.

In the same meeting, EU ministers separately agreed to sanction 10 Russian officials over the barring of Russia’s only remaining anti-war opposition party, Yabloko, from the country’s Sept 18-20 parliamentary elections. The list includes three judges from Russia’s Supreme Court and an official from the Prosecutor General’s Office, who will face asset freezes and a ban on transactions with EU companies.

Russia’s election was riddled with widespread manipulation, with any genuine opposition banned from running, and was illegally held in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, which led Kyiv to adopt sanctions measures of its own. The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said she had likewise proposed restrictions on those enabling the sham elections in the occupied territories. National and EU diplomats told the Kyiv Independent that a first draft list of 77 individuals had been discussed, with a view to adopting those sanctions at an Oct 12 summit of EU foreign ministers.

The new listings build on an earlier round adopted on May 11, when the EU sanctioned 16 individuals and seven entities over the same issue. The Council said at the time that nearly 20,500 Ukrainian children had been deported or forcibly transferred since February 2022, describing the actions as grave breaches of international law aimed at erasing Ukrainian identity. Those sanctioned are subject to asset freezes, a bar on EU citizens and companies making funds available to them, and travel bans for the listed individuals.

Sources

• Reuters: “EU imposes sanctions over deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia” (28 Sept 2026)
• Kyiv Independent: “EU adopts Russia sanctions over crackdown on anti-war party, abduction of Ukrainian children” (28 Sept 2026)
• Council of the EU press release: “Ukrainian children unlawfully deported and forcibly transferred to Russia” (11 May 2026)