Biden announces new sanctions for deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia

The corresponding statement appeared on the White House website.

According to Biden, the United States is working with all countries to hold the Russians accountable for the war crimes they committed in Ukraine, including the forced transfer of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.

"These children have been stolen from their parents and kept apart from their families. It’s unconscionable. And today, we are announcing new sanctions to hold those responsible for these forced transfers and deportations to account, and to demand that Ukrainian children be returned to their families," he said. 

On the occasion of Ukraine's Independence Day, Biden assured that his country and other partners would support Ukraine in the long term and help build a "secure and independent" future.

"On this Independence Day, as they have since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, brave Ukrainian women and men are defending Ukraine from assaults on fundamental principles essential to every nation on the planet – sovereignty and territorial integrity. They are showing the world once more that freedom is worth fighting for," Biden emphasized and expressed hope that next year Ukrainians will be able to celebrate this day in peace.

• On August 1, the US State Department called on Russia to stop deporting Ukrainian children from the occupied territories and to return them home.