Russia’s State Duma confirmed 37‑year‑old lawmaker Yana Lantratova as the new human‑rights ombudsman, a role that reports straight to President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian officials allege Lantratova helped A Just Russia leader Sergei Mironov’s wife secure an illegal adoption of an infant girl from occupied Kherson. The appointment follows a wave of Western sanctions targeting individuals linked to child deportations.

Ukraine says Moscow has moved thousands of children from occupied areas to Russia, a claim the U.N. commission backed with about 1,200 documented cases in 2022. Russian officials maintain the transfers shield orphaned kids from combat. Lantratova, a former youth‑wing activist, collaborated with Inna Varlamova to relocate two Kherson children, including a 10‑month‑old girl whose birth certificate was later rewritten.

Recent Western governments have already placed sanctions on Mironov and other officials tied to child abductions, and the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for President Putin and children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova‑Belova. Lantratova’s elevation to human rights ombudsman signals Moscow’s refusal to curb the practice, raising the risk of further economic penalties and complicating any prospective dialogue on detainee swaps.