Switzerland expands sanctions against Russia for deportation and Russification of Ukrainian children

Switzerland has expanded sanctions against Russia, adding 16 more people and 7 organizations involved in the forced deportation of children and attempts to erase their national identity to the list.

This is stated on the website of the Swiss government.

The sanctions lists include officials responsible for youth policy in occupied Sevastopol and other regions of Ukraine captured by Russia, as well as teachers and leaders of childrenʼs organizations.

This includes:

• the Director of the childrenʼs center "Smena" Igor Zhuravlev;
• Russian military man who currently heads the Center for Military-Patriotic Education of Youth "Warrior" Andranik Gasparyan;
• the so-called occupation minister of youth policy of the Zaporizhzhia region Yegor Logunov;
• the head of the occupation body "Department of Youth Affairs of the City of Sevastopol" Maryna Slonchenko and others.

According to Swiss authorities, they participated in the propaganda “re-education” of Ukrainian children. Switzerland stated that these people were imposing Russian ideology on Ukrainian children and militarizing them within the framework of Russian state policy.

They are also involved in the deportation and forced removal of children from the territory of Ukraine.

• The deportation of Ukrainian children is one of Russiaʼs war crimes, for which the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin and the Russian Childrenʼs Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova.
• At least 19 546 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported to Russia, and fewer than 400 have been returned. Ukraine also has evidence that Belarus is involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children.

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