Democratic U.S. lawmakers are planning to urge the administration to reinstate a program that helped monitor the abduction of thousands of Ukrainian children by Russia and to impose sanctions on those responsible for violating their rights.
The Republican administration led by President Trump has terminated a government-funded initiative by Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab (Yale HRL) that tracked the mass deportation of Ukrainian children, the lawmakers noted, denouncing the decision for depriving researchers of crucial information, including satellite imagery, regarding around 30,000 children taken from Ukraine.
In a letter addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and seen by Reuters, the lawmakers, led by Ohio Representative Greg Landsman, expressed concerns over the potential permanent deletion of data from the repository, deeming it devastating.
The cancellation of the State Department contract with Yale HRL has allegedly led to the deletion of $26 million worth of war crimes evidence, according to a source familiar with the tracking program, describing it as an obstruction to Putin's prosecution.
The House members' letter further urges the administration to levy sanctions against Russian and Belarusian officials involved in the child movements, emphasizing the need for repercussions in the face of flagrant breaches of children's rights under international law.
The lawmakers highlight the indispensable role of the U.S. government in aiding Ukraine to bring back the abducted children, stressing the urgency to resume efforts immediately, emphasizing that this mission aligns with the noble objective of rescuing these children without the need for military support.
The abduction of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia or Russian-occupied areas without consent has been classified by Ukraine as a war crime amounting to genocide, while Russia claims it has been conducting voluntary evacuations to protect vulnerable children amid the conflict.
In a separate development, the International Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of Lvova-Belova and Putin in connection with the child abductions, with Russia denouncing the warrants as unjustifiable.
Eurojust reported that Washington will cease support for the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, impacting efforts to prosecute Putin and others, resulting in the departure of U.S. special prosecutor Jessica Kim due to funding cuts.