Zelenskyy imposed sanctions against those responsible for the abduction of Ukrainian children and against Russia’s “shadow fleet”
29 April 21:41
Ukraine has decided to impose sanctions against Russian entities involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children, as well as against vessels belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
President Zelenskyy stated that the first sanctions list includes individuals working to remove Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories. They are engaged in erasing the children’s identities and hiding them from their families and the state.
“Among these sanctioned individuals are officials of the Russian state system, collaborators in the temporarily occupied territory, and propagandists,” Zelenskyy noted.
How many Ukrainian children has Russia abducted?
Russia has deported or illegally removed at least 19,546 Ukrainian children (according to verified Ukrainian data as of March 2025).
The total number could reach hundreds of thousands, and according to Ukrainian estimates—up to 1.6 million (including adults)—who have ended up on Russian territory or in territories occupied by Russia.
Sanctions against the Russian Navy
The second sanctions list includes 23 vessels that Moscow uses for oil exports.
“Sanctions from our partners have already been applied to part of this list. We are working to synchronize all our sanction regimes—our partners’ sanctions in Ukraine and Ukraine’s sanctions in our partners’ jurisdictions,” the president said.
Sanctions against Russia already include:
- Freezing of assets and financial accounts of Russian companies and individuals.
- Travel bans to many countries for certain Russian citizens and officials.
- A ban on the export of certain technologies and goods to Russia.
- Restrictions on oil and gas exports.
As a reminder, President Zelenskyy announced yesterday that Ukraine is preparing a sanctions package targeting those who directly transport Ukrainian grain stolen by Russia and those who profit from it.
