New UK sanctions target Kremlin war chest, propagandists and torturers

The UK has announced a package of sanctions designed to stem funding for Putin’s war chest, disrupt disinformation networks and go after those responsible for torturing Ukrainian civilians and deporting Ukrainian children.

Following sham elections in Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine earlier this month, the UK is now taking firm action against people and entities found to have undermined Ukraine’s territorial integrity through human rights abuses.  

They include eight people involved in the arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian civilians. These abuses are part of a wider system of repression in Russia’s occupied territories, where enforced disappearance and denial of justice have also been used against Ukrainian civilians.

A further seven individuals are being targeted for their role in the indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children, including those deported by the Russian authorities. To date, an estimated 6,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly relocated to a network of heinous so-called “re-education” camps.  

Millions more Ukrainian children living under Russian occupation are subjected to Kremlin propaganda programmes. These include training in weapons handling and drone operation and are designed to strip children of their Ukrainian identity while preparing them to serve the very state attacking their homeland.