The European Union, within the framework of its 20th sanctions package against the Russian Federation, has imposed restrictions on individuals involved in illegal activities in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea, the appropriation of Ukrainian cultural heritage, and the militarisation of children.

In particular, sanctions were imposed against the First Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Sergey Obryvalin, Director of the State Hermitage Museum Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nikolay Makarov, and Director of the Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrey Polyakov. Previously, the Mission initiated the application of sanctions against them; specifically, it prepared corresponding proposals and submitted them for consideration to the authorised state bodies.

The documents of the EU Council indicate that the grounds for the sanctions were the appropriation of Ukrainian cultural property, the issuance of permits to conduct archaeological works in Crimea, as well as participation in unauthorised excavations in the territory of the temporarily occupied peninsula.

Separate restrictions have been introduced against individuals involved in the policy of Russification and the militarised upbringing of Ukrainian children in Crimea. This concerns representatives of the so-called occupation administration and the educational sphere who facilitate the activities of Russian paramilitary youth structures, the opening of cadet classes, and the imposition of propaganda narratives on children.

Specifically, personal sanctions were imposed against Svitlana Dmytrova, Antonina Shepchenko, Oleh Ovcharenko, as well as Timur Yunusov, known as Timati, for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, spreading Kremlin propaganda, and publicly supporting the temporary occupation of Crimea.

The introduction of new sanctions is an important step towards holding accountable those who facilitate violations of international law, the destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage, and systemic pressure on Ukrainian citizens in temporarily occupied Crimea.