EU sanctions nine people over Bucha massacre, four for information manipulation

March 16, 2026 6:05 AM EDT

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks to the media on the day of the European Union's Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium, March 16, 2026. REUTERS/Omar Havana

BRUSSELS, March 16 (Reuters) - ‌The European ​Union ​on Monday imposed sanctions on nine individuals it said played a ‌role in the 2022 Bucha massacre ⁠and four individuals it said were involved with ‌Russia’s foreign information manipulation ‌and interference.

Kyiv has said more than 1,400 people were killed in Bucha, a ​suburb near the Ukrainian capital, during a 33-day occupation by Russian forces at ⁠the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in ​2022.

The Council of the EU said in a statement that the individuals ​sanctioned include Colonel General Aleksandr ‌Chayko, "the most senior Russian military officer on the ground in ⁠Ukraine at the outset of the full-scale invasion" who was "lead commander in Ukraine when Russian troops entered ⁠Bucha".

The EU also imposed sanctions on several alleged Kremlin ​propagandists, including the Franco-Russian Adrien Bocquet, whom French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described earlier on Monday ‌as "a key recruiter of foreign fighters in Ukraine, responsible for glorifying ‌war crimes, and also responsible for ⁠disinformation campaigns in Europe ‌and Africa."

(Reporting ​by Dominique Vidalon and Lili Bayer; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Ros ‌Russell)



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