US imposes visa restrictions on five Russian officials responsible for abducting Ukrainian children

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The US Department of State has imposed visa restrictions on five individuals linked to the forced deportation, transfer and confinement of Ukrainian children.

Source: US Department of State, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The Department of State did not disclose the names of the sanctioned individuals but specified that they are Russian officials and officials of “authorities installed by Russia” (presumably in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine).

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“Many of these children have had their identities changed and origins obscured, have been subjected to pro-Russia indoctrination and militarisation, or have been adopted by Russian families,” the US Department of State noted.

It continued: “Kremlin authorities have created a multitude of obstacles preventing the return of these children to Ukraine. Russia’s continued contempt for its international legal obligations to report the locations of these children makes securing their safe return nearly impossible.”

The announcement also mentioned that the US was “deeply concerned by the increasing number of reports of Ukrainian children being wrongfully adopted by Russian citizens” and pledged to do everything possible to bring these children back to Ukraine and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Background:

• In October, Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner, said that Russia has abducted more than 20,000 Ukrainian children since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
• It was for this crime that the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and Russian Children’s Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in 2023.
• In September, the Polish Sejm passed a resolution condemning Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children.

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