UK Imposes Travel Bans on 85 Russians Over Forced Deportation of Ukrainian Children

(UNITED KINGDOM) — The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office announced sanctions on May 11, 2026 against 85 Russian individuals and entities over the forced deportation, “Russification,” and militarization of Ukrainian children, widening a package that includes asset freezes, travel bans, and the invalidation of any existing UK visas or electronic travel authorisations.

The measures took effect under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and place immediate immigration restrictions on those designated. Sanctioned people must be refused entry clearance, leave to enter, or leave to remain under the UK Immigration Rules, including Appendix V: Visitor and Appendix ETA: Electronic Travel Authorisation.

Airlines that carry designated people to Britain face penalties of up to £50,000 per passenger under Section 40 of the Immigration Act 1971. The action ties financial sanctions to border enforcement, turning the latest travel bans into an immediate bar on entry as well as a constraint on movement.

Among those targeted, 49 are linked to the Social Design Agency, or SDA, which British authorities accused of producing Kremlin-directed disinformation aimed at undermining support for Ukraine. The group includes writers, translators and video producers, reflecting a sanctions package aimed not only at officials and institutions but also at the personnel behind propaganda operations.

Britain also designated senior figures from the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, executives at SDA, and staff at the Centre for Military Sports Training and Patriotic Education of Youth, known as the Warrior Centre. British authorities said Ukrainian children there underwent military-style training and pro-Kremlin indoctrination.

ANO Dialog also fell under the new restrictions. British authorities described it as operating under the Russian Presidential Administration alongside intelligence services in information warfare and election interference in Armenia.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper cast the move as an attempt to disrupt Kremlin narratives abroad while responding to the treatment of Ukrainian children. “The UK will not stand idly by as Putin seeks to sow lies and pro-Kremlin narratives abroad. Today’s sanctions are a strong step in exposing and disrupting the depths Russia is willing to go, to interfere and undermine democracy, and destroy Ukraine’s future through the abhorrent deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children,” Cooper said.

British estimates put the number of Ukrainian children forcibly transferred or deported to Russia or Russian-occupied territories since the war began at more than 20,000. Ukraine’s pilot tracing program has located more than 1,300 children and developed leads on 1,800 more.

Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova has said more than 700,000 children were “relocated.” An independent estimate by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab put the figure closer to 35,000.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on March 17, 2023 for Vladimir Putin and Lvova-Belova under Rome Statute Articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii). The warrants relate to unlawful deportation and transfer of population, placing the issue of forced deportation at the center of both sanctions policy and international criminal proceedings.

Britain’s sanctions package goes beyond naming individuals. By invalidating any existing UK visas or ETAs and requiring refusal of fresh permission to travel or stay, the measures attach direct immigration consequences to the designations. Carriers must screen passengers against the sanctions list or risk the fines set out in the 1971 act.

That enforcement structure gives the latest designations a practical effect at airports and border checkpoints, where entry clearance and permission to travel can be blocked before departure or on arrival. The designated entries also carry detailed identifying information, including unique IDs, dates of birth, nationalities, passport numbers, positions and British statements of reasons, which allows airlines and border officials to match names against official records.

The Foreign Office also pledged £1.2 million to trace abducted children. British authorities said that support could help explore humanitarian visa pathways for affected Ukrainian families, linking sanctions pressure to a parallel effort focused on recovery and family reunification.

European action moved in the same direction on May 11, 2026, when the EU sanctioned 16 Russian officials and 7 entities over deportation and forced assimilation efforts. Those measures included institutions linked to Russia’s Ministry of Education, broadening pressure on the network of officials, educators and administrators accused of involvement in the transfer and assimilation of Ukrainian children.

Britain’s latest package also shows how sanctions policy has widened from targeting oligarchs, military officers and state companies to targeting information operations. By listing staff and affiliates of the Social Design Agency, the government tied disinformation work directly to the campaign around Ukrainian children and to wider interference operations attributed to the Kremlin.

That approach reflects the way British authorities framed the conduct: not as separate tracks of wartime abuse and online propaganda, but as part of the same effort. In that account, the removal of children, the attempt to reshape their identity, and the spread of pro-Kremlin narratives all serve a single political objective.

The designations were published on the UK sanctions register, where the full entries can be reviewed at [the government’s sanctions announcement](gov.uk/government/news/uk-targets-hostile-and-heinous-russian-activity-with-latest-sanctions) and [the Russia list of designations and sanctions notices](gov.uk/guidance/russia-list-of-designations-and-sanctions-notices). Those records set out the names and identifying details of the people and entities now subject to British asset freezes and travel bans.

With those entries in force, the penalties now reach well beyond a diplomatic statement. They close the door to UK travel, expose carriers to heavy fines, and add another layer of pressure on the networks Britain says helped carry out the deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.