LONDON: Britain on Wednesday imposed sanctions on 11 more individuals and entities affiliated with the Russian state, targeting those involved in what it said were Moscow’s attempts to forcibly deport and indoctrinate Ukraine’s children.
Ukraine says that more than 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory during the war without the consent of family or guardians, calling the abductions a war crime that meets the UN treaty definition of genocide. Moscow has said it was protecting vulnerable children from a war zone.
“The Kremlin’s policy of forced deportations, indoctrination and militarization of Ukrainian children is despicable,” foreign minister David Lammy said in a statement, setting out Britain’s latest round of sanctions against Russia for the war in Ukraine.
Organizations such as the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation which runs re-education programs for Ukrainian children and teenagers, subjecting them to militaristic training, and its president, Aymani Nesievna Kadyrova, are among those targeted, the statement said. The sanctions include asset freezes, travel bans and other penalties.
The Russian embassy in London said the sanctions were unlawful and based on “unfounded claims” from Ukraine about the forcible transfer of children.
“We call upon the UK authorities to refrain from making baseless accusations in future and to avoid hindering the efforts aimed at protecting the rights and interests of minors,” it said in a post on social media.
In March, a report by the United Nations Human Rights Office said Russia had inflicted unimaginable suffering on millions of Ukrainian children and violated their rights since its full scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
Kadyrova’s son Ramzan, head of Russia’s Muslim Chechnya republic who has sent large contingents of troops to boost Russian ranks in Ukraine, published a statement in Russian via his channel on Telegram messaging app in defense of his mother.
“She always helps victims of war and supports the poor and disadvantaged around the world,” said the translated comments, which also said that she was not involved in politics.
“These actions prove that the West is guided neither by morality nor by law, but acts out of hatred and Russophobia ... This is the lowest level of rotten Western politics,” he added.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova related to the abduction of Ukrainian children. Russia denounced the warrants as “outrageous and unacceptable.”
UK sanctions target Russians linked to deportation of Ukrainian children
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UK sanctions target Russians linked to deportation of Ukrainian children
- “The Kremlin’s policy of forced deportations, indoctrination and militarization of Ukrainian children is despicable,” Lammy said
- The Russian embassy in London said the sanctions were unlawful and based on “unfounded claims” from Ukraine about the forcible transfer of children
Cross-border clash breaks out between Pakistan and Afghanistan amid rising tensions
- Border residents say exchange of fire in the Chaman border sector lasted nearly two hours
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan witnessed yet another border clash, according to officials in both countries who spoke in the early hours of Saturday, with each side accusing the other of launching “unprovoked” attacks.
Fighting erupted in Pakistan’s southwestern Chaman border sector, with an AFP report saying that residents on the Afghan side of the frontier reported the exchange of fire began at around 10:30 p.m. (1800 GMT) and continued for roughly two hours.
The incident underscored how tensions remain high between the neighbors, who have seen deadly clashes in recent months despite several rounds of negotiations mediated by Qatar and Türkiye that resulted in a tenuous truce in October.
“There has been unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban elements in the Chaman Sector which is a reckless act that undermines border stability and regional peace,” said a Pakistani security official on condition of anonymity.
“Pakistani troops responded with precision, reinforcing that any violation of our territorial integrity will be met with immediate and decisive action,” he continued.
The official described Pakistan’s response as “proportionate and calibrated” that showed “professionalism even in the face of aggression.”
“The Chaman Sector exchange once again highlights the need for Kabul to rein in undisciplined border elements whose actions are destabilizing Afghanistan’s own international standing,” he added.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have grown increasingly bitter since the Taliban seized power in Kabul following the withdrawal of international forces in August 2021.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban administration of sheltering anti-Pakistan militant groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which have carried out deadly attacks in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan, targeting civilians and security forces.
The Taliban deny the charge, saying Pakistan’s internal security challenges are its own responsibility.
The Pakistani security official said his country remained “committed to peaceful coexistence, but peace cannot be one-sided.”
“Attempts to pressure Pakistan through kinetic adventurism have repeatedly failed and will continue to fail,” he said. “The Chaman response has reaffirmed that message unmistakably.”
He added that Pakistan’s security forces were fully vigilant and that responsibility for any escalation “would solely rest with those who initiated unprovoked fire.”
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister, also commented on the clashes in a social media post, saying the Afghan Taliban had “resorted to unprovoked firing along the border.”
“An immediate, befitting and intense response has been given by our armed forces,” he wrote.
Afghan authorities, however, blamed Pakistan for the hostilities.
Border clashes that began in October have killed dozens of people on both sides.
The latest incident comes amid reports of back-channel discussions between the two governments, although neither has publicly acknowledged such talks.
