The UK has sanctioned seven individuals linked to the forced deportation and re-education of Ukrainian children from occupied territories.
Key facts
- •The sanctioned individuals face asset freezes, travel bans, and restrictions on trust services.
- •Artur Orlov, Denis Chernobay, and Elena Milskaya were previously sanctioned by Canada.
- •Elena Milskaya has also been sanctioned by the European Union.
- •The Movement of the First was established in 2022 at the initiative of Vladimir Putin.
- •Ukrainian officials estimate the number of deported children could be in the hundreds of thousands.
The United Kingdom imposed sanctions on seven Russian individuals on October 1 for their roles in the forced deportation and re-education of Ukrainian children. The sanctions target officials involved in state-backed programs that aim to militarize youth in occupied Ukrainian territories. According to the Ukrainian government initiative Bring Kids Back, these measures include travel bans and asset freezes.
By the numbers
Targeted Individuals and Organizations
The sanctions list includes Artur Orlov, the chairman of the board of the Movement of the First, a state-backed organization established by Vladimir Putin in 2022. Orlov is a Russian tank battalion commander appointed to lead the movement in 2024. The list also names five regional heads of the organization operating in occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Crimea. Also sanctioned is Elena Milskaya, chair of the board of trustees of Russia's National Center for Assistance to Missing and Injured Children. Ukraine's military intelligence agency alleges that Milskaya utilized volunteers in October 2022 to facilitate the mass abduction and unlawful deportation of children, including orphans, from occupied territories to Krasnodar Krai via Crimea.
Militarization of Youth
The UK government stated that millions of Ukrainian children in occupied areas are subjected to Kremlin propaganda programs, which include weapons training and drone operation. The Movement of the First, which reports over 344,000 members in occupied territories according to an OSCE expert mission, is described by Ukrainian officials as a tool to strip children of their Ukrainian identity and prepare them for military service against their own country. As of September 2026, Ukraine's Justice Ministry has officially confirmed 20,610 cases of deportation, though officials estimate the actual total could reach into the hundreds of thousands.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by Kyiv Independent, Ukrainska Pravda (English).
