Canada has imposed personal sanctions on eight Russian officials over their involvement in the deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children, according to a legal update published by the Canadian government.
Those sanctioned include Russian Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov, head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs Grigory Gurov, and Dvizhenie Pervykh (lit. "Movement of the First") youth organization head Artur Orlov.
The Movement of the First is a Kremlin-backed youth organization created after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is modeled in part on Soviet-era mass youth movements, running patriotic and educational programs for children and teenagers.
Also added to the sanctions list were Denis Chernobai, chairman of a regional branch council of Movement of the First; Vladimir Khromov, an adviser in the office of Russia’s children’s rights commissioner; and Elena Milskaya, chairperson of the board of trustees of the National Center for Assistance to Missing and Affected Children. Alexandra Kulgina and Vitaly Suk were also included.
The Canadian government said the eight were involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children, the unlawful transfer of those children to Russia, and the indoctrination and militarization of the abducted children.
On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights. They were accused of the war crime of unlawfully deporting and transferring children from occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia.
Ukrainian authorities have previously stated that over 20,000 Ukrainian children have been unlawfully taken to Russia since the start of the full-scale war. The Insider has also reported numerous cases of abuse involving Ukrainian children who were illegally transferred to Russia.
