Funding Cutoff Sparks Controversy Over Ukrainian Children Tracking Project

WASHINGTON – A storm of controversy has erupted following the Trump administration’s decision to discontinue funding for a crucial project dedicated to tracking Ukrainian children forcibly transferred to Russia. The move has ignited concerns among lawmakers and experts, particularly given President Donald Trump’s recent pledge to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine to assist in the return of these abducted children.

The now-defunded project, spearheaded by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab, meticulously documented Russia’s alleged systematic and widespread practice of coercing the adoption and fostering of Ukrainian children. The lab’s research, detailed in its latest report, paints a grim picture of intentional efforts to relocate children from Ukraine to Russia, often without parental consent or due process.

A spokesperson for Yale University confirmed that researchers associated with the project were recently notified of the funding termination. In response, the lab issued a public appeal for donations to ensure the continuation of their vital investigation.

The sudden funding cessation has fueled anxieties among some members of Congress, who fear that valuable data collected by the project, essential for tracking the deported children, may have been irretrievably lost.

Representative Greg Landsman, a Democrat from Ohio, along with more than a dozen of his congressional colleagues, penned a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressing their deep concern. The letter stated, "We have reason to believe that the data from the repository has been permanently deleted. If true, this would have devastating consequences."

The data in question includes satellite imagery and biometric information, which the project intended to share with European and Ukrainian authorities to facilitate the children’s return and to prosecute Russian officials allegedly responsible for these actions.

The timing of the funding cut is particularly sensitive, given that the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in March 2023 for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, a Kremlin official who has publicly championed the deportation campaign. The ICC has charged both individuals with war crimes, alleging that they bear criminal responsibility for the removal of hundreds of children from Ukrainian orphanages and homes for the purpose of adoption in Russia.

According to ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan, the warrants were issued based on evidence suggesting a pattern of systematic deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children, violating international humanitarian law.

The Yale project’s data, encompassing information on more than 30,000 Ukrainian children held in numerous locations across Russia, is now at risk, according to Rep. Landsman and his congressional colleagues.

However, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce has refuted claims that the data has been deleted. In a press briefing, she asserted, "The data exists. It was not in the State Department’s control. It was the people running that framework, but we know who was running the data and the website and we know fully that the data exists and it has not been deleted and it is not missing."

Experts emphasize the crucial role of maintaining the database for accountability and humanitarian purposes. Archived data provides crucial evidence of the children’s initial transfer out of Ukraine, while new information aids authorities in tracking their current whereabouts, including adoptions that have already occurred.

Beth Van Schaack, the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice in the U.S. State Department office within the Biden administration, underscored the importance of the project’s work. "President Zelenskyy has made clear that the return of all Ukrainian children who had been removed from Ukrainian territory have to be a central component of any comprehensive and just peace arrangement," she stated. "Losing the data and failing to continue to collect such data makes that harder to achieve and could undermine the ability to achieve some sort of a comprehensive resolution of the conflict."

Despite the State Department’s assurance that the data remains accessible, Rep. Landsman remains skeptical. In an interview, he expressed his continued concern, stating that the database provided hope that the U.S. was actively working to secure the children’s return. "And then to find out that that has been shut down, and that these people, including some Russian oligarchs, who had already done something so egregious and morally repugnant in stealing children are now aware that no one’s looking, no one’s looking anymore, they’re not going to do the right thing," he lamented.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Yale lab has been diligently tracking the whereabouts of more than 8,400 Ukrainian children, some as young as four months old, who have been systematically relocated to various facilities in Russia and Russian-occupied territories.

A December report by the lab revealed that at least 314 of these children have been forcibly placed for adoption by Russian families or placed in Russian foster care. In one documented case, the Russian government even reissued a child’s birth certificate with a falsified name and birthdate.

Within a year of the Russian invasion, the lab identified as many as 6,000 Ukrainian children who had been transported to 43 different Russian reeducation camps. Currently, the Ukrainian government estimates that over 19,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported, although other estimates suggest the figure could be in the hundreds of thousands. Tragically, less than 1,250 of these children have been successfully returned to Ukraine.

The systematic abduction of Ukrainian children began before the full-scale invasion and has intensified as Russia gained control over more territory. The deportations have disproportionately targeted vulnerable children, including those with disabilities, children from abusive homes or in foster care, and orphans. In some instances, Russian officials have reportedly attempted to persuade Ukrainian parents to relinquish custody of their children, promising them safety from the conflict.

According to Nathaniel Raymond, who leads the Yale study, Russian officials have even pressured parents into temporarily relinquishing custody of their children to camps, with the promise of returning them after the war. In reality, many of these children never return.

The defunding of the Yale project coincides with a broader effort by the Trump administration to drastically reduce U.S. foreign aid contracts.

Tammy Bruce, the State Department spokesperson, stated that the decision to cut funding was based on prioritizing initiatives that align with the administration’s focus on "making America safe and secure or more prosperous," as well as addressing "waste and abuse." She emphasized President Trump’s commitment to the return of the Ukrainian children, citing his conversation with President Zelenskyy. "I think that’s a pretty good clear indication that we can still work on issues that matter and make them happen without it being in a certain structure that has existed," she stated.

Rep. Landsman characterized the funding cutoff as "a huge mistake," expressing hope that the administration would rectify the situation. "But the thing that matters most, is the result, is the kids getting home," he emphasized. He acknowledged the value of discussions about returning the children, including at the highest levels of government, but stressed that "talk is talk, and Putin stole 30,000 children. This has to end in a way where Putin doesn’t keep starting these wars, and nobody takes children."