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The United Kingdom (UK) announced on September 3 that it is levying sanctions against eight additional individuals and three organizations in connection with their role in Russia’s forced deportation, militarization, and indoctrination of Ukrainian children. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy noted that these individuals and organizations are part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s effort to “erase Ukrainian language, culture, and identity.” The sanctions list notably names Aymani Kadyrova, the mother of Chechen Republic Head Ramzan Kadyrov, and the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation, which Kadyrova heads, as perpetrators of Russia’s deportation and indoctrination campaign against Ukrainian children. The United States similarly sanctioned Kadyrova and the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation in August 2023. ISW has previously observed evidence that Kadyrov and other Chechen authorities are involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children — Kadyrov, for example confirmed in November 2022 that he was overseeing the deportation of Ukrainian teenagers with behavioral problems to a military-patriotic training camp in Chechnya. The UK sanctions list also includes the Russian Movement of the First youth civic engagement organization, which ISW has long assessed plays a critical role in the indoctrination and militarization of Ukrainian children in occupied areas, as well as in the deportation of Ukrainian children to indoctrination programs in the Russian Federation.
Russian law enforcement bodies operating in occupied areas of Ukraine are increasingly contributing to the militarization of Ukrainian youth and encouraging them to inform on pro-Ukrainian or anti-Russian sentiment in their local communities. The occupied Donetsk Oblast-based Donetsk News Agency reported on September 3 that Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR)-affiliated youth organizations have “established cooperation” with Russian law enforcement agencies to “prevent extremism and terrorism among children and youth.” Head of the DNR “Young Republic” youth organization Sergei Dobrovolsky told Donetsk News Agency that “Young Republic” is working with Rosgvardia, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), DNR Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), and the Russian MVD’s Main Directorate for Combating Extremism (Center E) to teach children and youth about security and law enforcement issues. Closer interaction between Russian law enforcement bodies and children and youth in occupied areas will grant Russian security forces closer oversight in schools, which have already become increasingly securitized since Russia’s occupation of Ukraine. It will also encourage Ukrainian children and youth to inform on their classmates or even family members for perceived pro-Ukrainian or anti-Russian behavior, which is likely to have adverse effects on the long-term security of occupied communities.
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