Latest news with #Vkontakte
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Zelensky imposes sanctions against individuals, organizations involved in deportation of Ukrainian children
President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 10 imposed sanctions on 48 individuals and nine organizations associated with the deportation of Ukrainian children, according to a decision of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC). Ukraine has documented over 19,500 cases of children who were forcibly taken to Russia, Belarus, or occupied territories since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. According to official figures, only about 1,300 of them have been brought back to areas under Ukrainian control. The sanctions list includes Sergey Havrilchuk, director of the "Regional Center for Preparation for Military Service and Military-Patriotic Education" in the Russian-occupied Crimea, as well as the head of the regional headquarters of Yunarmiya ("Youth Army"), the state-sponsored youth organization that combines ideological indoctrination with military training for children and teenagers. Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) said Havrilchuk was involved in organizing the abduction and illegal deportation of Ukrainian children from the Russian-occupied territories under the guise of "rehabilitation, recreation, and education," and promotes the ideological re-education and militarization of children in Crimea. Ukraine has also imposed sanctions against Irina Ageeva, the children's ombudsman in Russia's Kaluga Oblast. Ageeva supports and implements the policy of deportation of Ukrainian children, particularly by disseminating information about children taken to Russia, granting them Russian citizenship, and placement in families on the Russian social network Vkontakte, according to HUR. The list also featured nine Russian organizations, including the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution "Artek International Children's Center." Before the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, "Artek" was a Ukrainian children's camp, but after the occupation of the peninsula, Russia took control of it. The camp is now involved in the mass abduction, illegal deportation, and forced displacement of Ukrainian children, organizing "rehabilitation, recreation, and education" and spreading information about the "peacekeeping and humanitarian" goals of Russia, according to HUR. Previously, Zelensky announced on May 25 that three new sanction packages had came into effect, targeting propagandists, criminal networks, and Russian financiers. Read also: Growing up under missiles — Ukrainian childhoods shaped by war (Photos) We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
CIA deputy director's son killed while fighting for Russia in Ukraine, investigation claims
The son of a deputy head of the CIA was killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine in 2024, Russian publication Important Stories reported in an investigation published on April 25. Michael Gloss, 21, was the son of CIA Deputy Director for Digital Innovation Julianne Gallina Gloss, and Iraq war veteran Larry Gloss. Before arriving in Russia on August 13, 2023, Gloss was travelling around Europe. On his Vkontakte page bio, he wrote: "I ran away from home (and) traveled the world. I hate fascism." Gloss studied Human Ecology at Middlebury College in Vermont and was described as an eco-activist, women's rights supporter, and anti-fascist, Important Stories reports. He created an Instagram post with anti-fascist graffiti in March 2023, with the hashtag "end Ukraine war." But despite supporting Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale war, he was at a military recruitment center in Moscow, alongside other foreign nationals, on September 5, 2023, Russian border data shows. His social media posts show a distinct change in his views — one identified by Important Stories as belonging to Gloss suggest he believed in conspiracy theories involving Ukraine, and claimed NATO was an evolution of Adolf Hitler's Nazi party. Gloss was enlisted in Russia's 137th Ryazan Airborne Regiment, according to Important Stories, which found several pictures and videos of his recruitment process, as well as speaking to some of his fellow recruits. A Russian soldier who served with him said he was "a staunch supporter of Russia and loved it." On April 4, 2024, he was killed, likely during a Russian offensive near Bakhmut, however, his burial in the U.S. did not take place until December 2024, Important Stories reports. He told his family he was working in Russia to get a Russian passport and save money for a trip to Africa. According to an obituary written by his parents, Gloss "was tragically killed in Eastern Europe," while he "was forging his own hero's journey with his noble heart and warrior spirit." "He wanted the world to be a better place with more fairness, peace and harmony with nature," it says. "In his brief life, he built houses in Honduras, he restored buildings in Turkiye destroyed by earthquakes, he worked on farms in Italy learning sustainable agriculture." The obituary made no mention of Russia or Ukraine. Since the start of its full-scale invasion, Moscow has relied on various methods to enlist migrants and foreign nationals to offset its heavy battlefield losses while avoiding full-scale mobilization. Reports indicate that Russia has recruited individuals from Nepal, Somalia, India, Cuba, and other nations. Read also: High-ranking Russian general killed in car bombing near Moscow, as Witkoff meets with Putin We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
