Calls grow to sanction Russian officials accused of taking Ukrainian children from occupied areas
Calls are growing for the UK to sanction two Russian officials accused of helping remove Ukrainian children from occupied territory and subjecting them to political indoctrination. The allegations centre on Marina Peschanskaya and Anton Demidov, who are described in the supplied material as playing key roles in the transfer and ideological shaping of children from seized areas of Ukraine. The issue has resurfaced through a new exhibition in central London highlighting alleged crimes linked to figures associated with the Kremlin.
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According to the material, Peschanskaya is the head of the children's rights watchdog in Sevastopol, in occupied Crimea, and has spoken publicly about moving thousands of children from occupied Ukrainian land. Demidov is said to have led efforts to recruit thousands of people into a nationalist youth wing. The report says both have already been sanctioned by other countries, including the European Union and Switzerland, but have not been targeted by British officials.
The allegations have prompted criticism from senior MPs, human rights groups and war crimes campaigners, who say the UK should follow other jurisdictions. Alicia Kearns, the Shadow National Security and Safeguarding Minister, said the removals were not evacuation but abduction and a war crime. She also accused Russia of having industrialised the removal of children from occupied Ukraine and of using a system designed to erase their identity.
Her comments reflect a wider campaign to push for more targeted sanctions against individuals linked to the alleged programme. The case matters because the forced transfer of children from occupied territory is treated as a grave breach under international law and has become one of the most sensitive allegations arising from the war in Ukraine. The issue also carries political weight in London, where pressure is building on ministers to align sanctions policy more closely with the positions already taken by other Western governments.
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The debate is not only about punishment, but also about whether public officials accused of involvement in the programme should be able to continue operating without direct British restrictions. Ukraine has identified close to 20,000 forcibly deported children, according to the supplied material, although there are fears the real number could be far higher. The report says some estimates place the total in the hundreds of thousands, underscoring the scale of the concern.
Peschanskaya is quoted in the material as having spoken in December 2023 about around 6,000 children from occupied Ukraine living in Sevastopol. She also reportedly said children from occupied Zaporizhzhia and Kherson arrived with a different mentality and worldview. The allegations sit within a broader pattern of claims that children taken from occupied areas are being placed into Russian-controlled institutions and youth structures.
In the material, Peschanskaya is said to have spoken of the need to "reformat" children who arrive from Ukraine, language that campaigners cite as evidence of ideological pressure. Demidov's role is described as part of a wider effort to recruit young people into nationalist organisations, linking the issue of child transfer to longer-term political influence. The supplied material does not say whether the UK government will act, or when any decision on sanctions might be made.
It also does not provide a response from the Russian officials named. What remains unclear is whether the London exhibition and the renewed public pressure will translate into policy change, and whether further names will be added to the list of those facing calls for sanctions.
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