Russian 'architect' of Ukraine child abduction scheme sanctioned by Canada

A spokesman for Canada's foreign affairs minister says new sanctions against a Russian official will make her a "global pariah."

Adrien Blanchard says the economic penalties against Maria Lvova-Belova are meant to "isolate her and hold her accountable for her crimes."

Lvova-Belova is Russia's children's rights commissioner.

But Global Affairs alleges she is also the architect of a scheme to abduct Ukrainian children and facilitate their adoption into Russian homes.

Thousands of kids have been transported to Russia from the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in the months since the war began.

Moscow claims most of them are Russian-speaking.

Ukraine's ambassador to Canada said earlier this week that her country is trying hard to get the children back.

The abductions are some of the roughly 28-thousand suspected war crimes being investigated by Ukraine, with help from Canada.

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