According to the SBU, Sharlai heads the department responsible for religious organizations within Russia's occupation administration in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. He also served as Russian President Vladimir Putin's trusted representative in occupied Melitopol during Russia's 2024 presidential election.

Ukraine has increasingly used long-range strikes and strikes against data centers to weaken Russia's ability to sustain the war.

The captain was charged with violating the procedure for entering and exiting Ukraine's temporarily occupied territory with intent to harm the interests of the state, and violating the laws and customs of war.

The two sides are discussing a local ceasefire to allow residents to be evacuated directly to Ukrainian-controlled territory, Lubinets said on Oct. 18.

Among the children returned to Ukrainian-controlled territory is 9-year-old Stefan, who was forced to undergo military training at a school under Russian occupation, according to Bring Kids Back UA.

This weekly update from the Kyiv Independent aims to shed light on the situation facing Ukrainians living under Russian occupation and the ever-tightening control of information imposed by the Kremlin.

Key news as of Oct. 17:

• Eleven Ukrainians, including 96-year-old woman, return from Russian-occupied territories, ombudsman says
• Russia sends terrorism

He believed his online date was a Ukrainian trapped under Russian occupation. She may never have existed.

The operation also destroyed the residenceof the Russian officer corps, in particular of those training the sabotage groups of the 18th Army.

While the humanitarian crisis in the Russian-occupied front-line city of Oleshky recently garnered media attention, all regions of occupied Ukraine face worsening humanitarian issues at the hands of Russia's occupation authorities.

Across all occupied territories, civilians face failing water and electricity systems, shortages of qualified doctors, deteriorating municipal

Ten individuals and 17 organisations have been added to the EU sanctions list over the deportation, forced transfer and assimilation of Ukrainian children, including a state-run camp in North Korea.

The European Union has imposed sanctions on another 10 individuals and 17 organisations accused of involvement in the unlawful deportation, forced transfer and assimilation of Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied territories.

The measures adopted by the Council on Monday extend sanctions to Russian officials, children’s camps, education institutions and organisations involved in programmes that Brussels says are intended to integrate Ukrainian children into Russian cultural and political structures.

Among the organisations listed is the Songdowon International Children’s Camp in North Korea, a state-operated institution which the Council says has taken part in organised programmes involving children transferred from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

According to the Council, the camp participated in transfers coordinated with the Russian Federation and programmes aimed at promoting pro-Russian narratives among the children.

The inclusion of a North Korean institution broadens the geographical scope of EU measures addressing the removal of Ukrainian children beyond Russia and the territories it occupies.

Other organisations placed under sanctions include children’s camps and sports centres in Russia and occupied Ukraine.

The Council says these facilities have been involved in cultural reorientation, propaganda-based education and military-patriotic activities designed to incorporate Ukrainian children into Russian identity frameworks.

The sanctions also cover the Moscow City Tourism Committee and two Russian companies operating in the children’s recreation, tourism and entertainment sectors.

Individuals listed on Monday include Rustam Minnikhanov, head of Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan, whom the Council accuses of facilitating the transfer of Ukrainian children to camps in the region.

Education officials operating in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, a sports and tourism official in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and managers of camps and schools were also included.

Those sanctioned face an EU-wide asset freeze. European individuals and companies are prohibited from making funds or economic resources available to them, while listed individuals are barred from entering or transiting through EU territory.

The latest decision follows an earlier round of sanctions in May. At that time, EU Today reported on the designation of 16 people and seven organisations accused of involvement in the transfer and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.

Monday’s measures substantially expand that group.

The Council estimates that more than 20,500 Ukrainian children have been deported or forcibly transferred since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukraine says the true number could be considerably higher because many children remain difficult to trace in occupied territories or inside Russia.

The legal status of the transfers has become an important element of international investigations into the conduct of the war.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, alleging responsibility for the unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied Ukrainian territory to Russia.

Moscow rejects the accusation that the transfers constitute deportations, maintaining that children were moved from conflict zones for their protection.

Ukraine and its international partners dispute that account, pointing to cases in which children have been placed with Russian families, subjected to Russian citizenship procedures or enrolled in programmes promoting Russian national identity.

The EU measures concentrate not simply on the physical transfer of children, but also on what the Council describes as forced assimilation, indoctrination and militarised education.

That distinction explains why camps, schools, tourism organisations and education officials appear alongside political office-holders in the sanctions list.

EU Today’s earlier coverage of the sanctions process noted that Brussels had increasingly moved the issue from the humanitarian sphere into the Union’s broader sanctions architecture.

The approach gives the EU a mechanism for targeting officials and institutions operating different parts of the transfer system even where they are not directly involved in military operations.

The latest listings also demonstrate the international dimension of the programme.

The Songdowon camp was already sanctioned by the United Kingdom in May over what London described as support for Russia’s programme involving the deportation and re-education of Ukrainian children. Its addition to the EU list means restrictions on the institution now extend across the Union.

The legal acts implementing Monday’s decision have been published in the EU’s Official Journal and take effect under the Union’s existing sanctions regime covering actions undermining Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.