UK imposes sanctions on Russian Orthodox Church head Kirill

On Thursday, June 16, the UK announced a new wave of sanctions related to Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine, in particular, the forced deportation and adoption of Ukrainian children in Russia.

“Just announced: I have sanctioned: Patriarch Kirill, Head of Russian Orthodox Church and vocal supporter of Putin’s war; enablers and perpetrators of Putin’s war who have brought suffering to Ukraine,” British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Twitter.

In addition, according to British government’s press service, sanctions were imposed on Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for her forced transfer and adoption of Ukrainian children.

Lvova-Belova has been accused of enabling 2,000 vulnerable children being violently taken from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions and orchestrating a new policy to facilitate their forced adoptions in Russia.

“Today we are targeting the enablers and perpetrators of Putin’s war who have brought untold suffering to Ukraine, including the forced transfer and adoption of children. We will not tire of defending freedom and democracy, and keeping up the pressure on Putin, until Ukraine succeeds. Putin’s allies continue to choose to turn a blind eye to alleged war crimes and support his bloody offensive,” Truss said.

Moreover, affected by the new package of sanctions are Sergey Savostyanov, a Moscow City Duma deputy and member of Putin’s political elite who has publicly expressed support for Putin’s war in Ukraine, and Alexey Isaiykin, President and Board Member of Volga-Dnepr Group, a Russian transport company with operations that is contracted by the Russian Government to create air bridges that carry critical goods.

In addition to them, the sanctions list includes four colonels from the 64th separate motorized rifle brigade, a unit involved in the killings, violence and torture of civilians in Bucha, and members of the so-called “Salvation Committee for Peace and Order,” an organization collaborating with the Russian army to support the occupation of Kherson region.

“Putin’s aggression reaches beyond Ukraine, with Russian exports fueling conflict across the globe. New sanctions today hit organizations responsible for supplying aircraft parts to the Myanmar Armed Forces. These new sanctions will limit Myanmar’s military Junta – who are heavily reliant on Russian air assets – and cut Putin off from profiting from sales that fund his war machine. This comes after Amnesty International’s report ‘Bullets Rained from the Sky’ – exposing the role of Russian arms in Myanmar,” the UK government said.