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Trump Administration Ends Yale Program Tracking Abducted Ukrainian Children

The termination of funding for Yale's Humanitarian Research Lab raises concerns about the loss of vital evidence on Russian war crimes and the fate of thousands of kidnapped Ukrainian children.

Members of the non-profit Avaaz and Ukrainian refugees placed thousands of kids' teddy bears and toys at Schuman Roundabout in front of the European Commission in Brussels a vigil for the abduction of thousands of Ukrainian children by Russia on February 23, 2022.
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Overview

  • The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, which documented Russian abductions of Ukrainian children, lost U.S. funding in January 2025 due to foreign aid cuts under the Trump administration.
  • The program's database, containing evidence such as satellite imagery and biometric data, is reportedly inaccessible and may have been permanently deleted, jeopardizing international prosecutions.
  • The database supported investigations by the International Criminal Court and Europol, including charges against Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova for war crimes involving child abductions.
  • U.S. lawmakers, including Rep. Greg Landsman, and Evangelical groups have criticized the decision, urging the administration to restore funding and clarify the status of the evidence repository.
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has emphasized the return of abducted children as a priority in peace negotiations, while the U.S. State Department has not commented on the database's fate.