EU Expands Sanctions Over Deportation of Ukrainian Children

(MENAFN) Russia on Monday fired back against a high-level Brussels summit addressing the mass transfer of Ukrainian children to Russian-controlled territories, accusing organizers of weaponizing the issue politically — even as the EU moved to broaden its sanctions regime over the alleged deportations.

In a statement released via Telegram, Russia's Permanent Mission to the European Union defended Moscow's conduct since the launch of its "special military operation," framing its actions as "evacuating minors from the combat zone to save their lives and health, as well as reuniting families separated during the Ukrainian conflict."

The mission flatly rejected accusations of "forced displacement or deportation" of Ukrainian minors, asserting that Russia remains willing to engage in dialogue on family reunification.

Meanwhile, the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, which convened the Brussels summit on Monday, painted a starkly different picture — stating that Russia has consistently withheld comprehensive data on the whereabouts of transferred children, severely hampering identification and repatriation efforts.

"Even when children are located, bringing them home can be a long and complex process," the coalition said in a statement.

The scale of the crisis is staggering. Ukraine's Justice Ministry disclosed Monday that more than 20,000 Ukrainian children have been transferred to Russia or Russian-controlled territories since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.

"For these children, the disruption has meant not only displacement, but separation from family, loss of community, and an attack on their identity, language, and connection to home," said the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.

Russia countered that Ukraine itself submitted a list of just 339 children during peace negotiations in Istanbul last June — and alleged that much of that information was either outdated or inaccurate.

In a parallel development, the EU Council on Monday widened its sanctions net against Russia, adding 16 individuals and seven entities to its blacklist.

"The decision targets those responsible for the systematic unlawful deportation, forced transfer, forced assimilation, including indoctrination and militarized education, of Ukrainian minors," the council said in a statement.

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