The UK has today (Thursday 16 June) announced a new wave of sanctions for the barbaric treatment of children in Ukraine.
The measures include the sanctioning of Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for her alleged involvement in the forced transfer and adoption of Ukrainian children.
Lvova-Belova has been accused of enabling 2,000 vulnerable children being violently taken from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions and orchestrating a new policy to facilitate their forced adoptions in Russia.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said:
“Today we are targeting the enablers and perpetrators of Putin’s war who have brought untold suffering to Ukraine, including the forced transfer and adoption of children.
“We will not tire of defending freedom and democracy, and keeping up the pressure on Putin, until Ukraine succeeds.”
Putin’s allies continue to choose to turn a blind eye to alleged war crimes and support his bloody offensive.
Today’s sanctions also hit:
• Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, sanctioned for his support and endorsement for Putin’s war
• Sergey Savostyanov, the deputy of the Moscow city Duma and member of Putin’s political elite, sanctioned for publicly supporting Putin’s war in Ukraine
• Alexey Isaykin, President and Board Member of Volga-Dnepr Group, a Russian transport company with significant air operations that is contracted by the Russian Government to create air bridges that carry critical goods
Four Military Colonels from the 64th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade, a unit known to have killed, raped, and tortured civilians in Bucha, have also been sanctioned for the Brigade’s role in Ukraine.
Members of the so-called ‘Salvation Committee for Peace and Order’ – an organisation collaborating with the Russian army to support the occupation of the Kherson Oblast, have also been sanctioned.
Putin’s aggression reaches beyond Ukraine, with Russian exports fuelling conflict across the globe.
ENDS
Background
Asset freeze
An asset freeze prevents any UK citizen, or any business in the UK, from dealing with any funds or economic resources which are owned, held or controlled by the designated person. UK financial sanctions apply to all persons within the territory and territorial sea of the UK and to all UK persons, wherever they are in the world. It also prevents funds or economic resources being provided to or for the benefit of the designated person.
Travel ban
A travel ban means that the designated person must be refused leave to enter or to remain in the United Kingdom, providing the individual is an excluded person under section 8B of the Immigration Act 1971.
Transport sanctions
Recently introduced powers make it a criminal offence for any Russian aircraft to fly or land in the UK, and give the government powers to remove aircraft belonging to designated Russian individuals and entities from the UK aircraft register, even if the sanctioned individual is not on board. Russian ships are also banned from UK ports.
Notable Individuals
• Maria Alekseevna Lvova-Belova is the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights under the President of the Russian Federation. In her role as Commissioner for Children’s Rights she is responsible for undermining and threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Specifically, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has accused her of orchestrating the forced abduction and adoption of Ukrainian children in Russia.
• Vladimir Mikhailovich, Patriarch Kirill, a long-time ally of President Putin, has become one of the most prominent supporters of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine. Mikhailovich is subject to a travel ban and asset freeze.
• Sergey Vladimirovich Savostyanov is a statesman and politician of Russia. He was elected a deputy of the Moscow city Duma on 8 September 2019. By denying the territorial integrity of Ukraine and promoting the restoration of the boundaries of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, he publicly supports the Russia’s actions in Ukraine. The EU designated this individual on 3 June 2022. He is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
• Alexey Isaykin, President and Board Member of Volga-Dnepr Group, a Russian transport company with significant air operations. Isaykin is working as a Director (or equivalent) in a business operating in a sector of strategic significance (the Russian transport sector) to the Government of Russia, and therefore is or has been involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia. He is subject to a travel ban and asset freeze.
Ukrainian Separatists
• Volodymir Vasilyovich Saldo is a Ukrainian politician, Russian collaborator and engineer serving as the de facto governor of Kherson Oblast since 26 April 2022 following his installation by the Russian military . In March 2022, Saldo participated in the creation of the so-called ‘Salvation Committee for Peace and Order’, an organ for collaboration with the Russian occupation. Saldo has provided support for and promoted policies that undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. The EU designated this individual on 3 June 2022. He is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
• Kyrylo Sergiyovich Stremousov is a Russian-installed ‘deputy head of the regional military-civic administration’ of the so-called “Kherson People’s Republic”. Stremousov participated in the creation of the so-called ‘Salvation Committee for Peace and Order’, an organ for collaboration with the Russian occupation. He has provided support for and promoted policies that undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. The EU designated this individual on 3 June 2022. He is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
• Mikolayovich Serhiy Cherevko is a former deputy mayor of Kherson and a member of the ‘Salvation Committee for Peace and Order’ in Kherson. Cherevko participated in March 2022 in the creation of the so-called ‘Salvation Committee for Peace and Order’, an organ for collaboration with the Russian occupation. The EU designated this individual on 3 June 2022. He is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
• Tetiana Kuzmich is a former deputy mayor of Kherson and a member of the ‘Salvation Committee for Peace and Order’ in Kherson. Kuzmich participated in March 2022 in the creation of the so-called ‘Salvation Committee for Peace and Order’, an organ for collaboration with the Russian occupation in Kherson Oblast. The EU designated this individual on 3 June 2022. She is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
Military Commanders
• Andrei Boevich Kurbanov is a colonel of the 64th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade of the 35th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Federation, which killed, raped and tortured civilians in Bucha, Ukraine. These atrocities constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes. He was leading the actions of his military unit. Kurbanov , is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban. The EU designated this individual on 3 June 2022.
• Viacheslav Sergeevich Klobukov is a colonel of the 64th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade of the 35th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Federation, which killed, raped and tortured civilians in Bucha, Ukraine. These atrocities constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes. He was leading the actions of his military unit. Klobukov , is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban. The EU designated this individual on 3 June 2022.
• Aleksandr Viktorovich Vins is a colonel of the 64th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade of the 35th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Federation, which killed, raped and tortured civilians in Bucha, Ukraine. These atrocities constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes. He was leading the actions of his military unit. Vins is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban. The EU designated this individual on 3 June 2022.
• Aleksandr Leonidovich Shershnev is a colonel of the 64th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade of the 35th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Federation, which killed, raped and tortured civilians in Bucha, Ukraine. These atrocities constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes. He was leading the actions of his military unit. Therefore, he is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban. The EU designated this individual on 3 June 2022.
