US sanctions 11 Russians and 2 re-education facilities involved in forced transfer of Ukrainian kids

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States has announced sanctions against 11 Russians and two re-education facilities reportedly involved in the forced transfer of thousands of Ukrainian children, accusing Moscow of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made the announcement at a U.N. Security Council meeting Thursday that the U.S. organized on Ukraine’s national day to put a spotlight on the transfer or deportation of its children as young as four months old, not only to Russia but to its ally Belarus and Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine’s east. She said: “Children are literally being ripped from their homes in the year 2023.” Deportations of Ukrainian children have been a concern since Russia’s Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine.