• Investing
  • Stock
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Portfolio Performance Today
Economy

Trump administration ends program to track kidnapped Ukrainian children in Russia, lawmakers say

by March 19, 2025
by March 19, 2025

The U.S. State Department has ended funding for tracking thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, and a U.S. database with information on the victims may have been deleted, according to a letter U.S. lawmakers plan to send to Trump administration officials on Wednesday.

A group of Democratic U.S. lawmakers penned the letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, urging the administration to restore the program that helps track the abducted Ukrainian children.

The administration has ended a government-funded initiative led by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab that tracked the mass deportation of children from Ukraine, meaning researchers have lost access to a significant amount of information — including satellite imagery — on roughly 30,000 children kidnapped from Ukraine.

‘We have reason to believe that the data from the repository has been permanently deleted. If true, this would have devastating consequences,’ the letter, led by Ohio Rep. Greg Landsman, said.

News of the letter came on Tuesday, the same day U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who stopped short of agreeing to a 30-day truce in Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

A person familiar with the tracking program said the canceled State Department contract led to the deletion of $26 million in war crimes evidence.

‘They took $26 million of U.S. taxpayers money used for war crimes data and threw it into the woodchipper, including the dossiers on all the children,’ the person told Reuters.

‘If you wanted to protect President Putin from prosecution, you nuke that thing. And they did it. It’s the final court-admissible version with all the metadata,’ the person added.

The letter to administration officials also calls for sanctions to punish officials in Russia and its ally Belarus who are involved in abducting children.

‘These egregious, openly acknowledged violations of the rights of children afforded under international law demand consequences,’ the letter said.

Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab also no longer has access to the satellite imagery needed to track the abducted children, according to the lawmakers.

‘Our government is providing an essential service – one that does not require the transfer of weapons or cash to Ukraine – in pursuit of the noble goal of rescuing these children. We must, immediately, resume the work to help Ukraine bring these children home,’ the letter said.

Ukraine has described the abductions of tens of thousands of its children taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without parental consent as a war crime that meets the U.N. treaty definition of genocide.

Russia has claimed it has been evacuating people voluntarily to protect vulnerable children from being caught in the crossfire.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of Lvova-Belova and Putin in connection with the abduction of Ukrainian children, a move Russia denounced as ‘outrageous and unacceptable.’

Eurojust, Europe’s agency for criminal cooperation, said on Tuesday it learned the U.S. government was ending its support for the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, which was collecting evidence to prosecute Putin and others. The U.S. special prosecutor at Eurojust, Jessica Kim, would leave as part of the move.

Reuters contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

0 comment
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

previous post
Soracom and Suzuki Launch IoT-Based Proof-of-Concept for Commercialization of Versatile micro e-Mobility Platform concept
next post
How Donald Trump dominates the news, both positively and negatively

Related Posts

Will the US Be a Safe Harbor for...

July 17, 2025

Buy Now, Pay Later Is Just Credit, Not...

July 17, 2025

Buy Now, Pay Later Is Just Credit, Not...

July 17, 2025

Will the US Be a Safe Harbor for...

July 17, 2025

RFK Jr. fires 2 top aides at HHS...

July 17, 2025

Congress considers permanent national park fee increase for...

July 17, 2025

House Republicans float grilling Joe, Jill Biden as...

July 17, 2025

Senate marches toward passing Trump’s $9B clawback bill...

July 17, 2025

Former DC councilmember wins back seat months after...

July 17, 2025

Iran faces August deadline to accept comprehensive nuclear...

July 17, 2025

Stay updated with the latest news, exclusive offers, and special promotions. Sign up now and be the first to know! As a member, you'll receive curated content, insider tips, and invitations to exclusive events. Don't miss out on being part of something special.

By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

Recent Posts

  • Will the US Be a Safe Harbor for AI — or a Roadblock?

    July 17, 2025
  • Buy Now, Pay Later Is Just Credit, Not a Crisis

    July 17, 2025
  • Will the US Be a Safe Harbor for AI — or a Roadblock?

    July 17, 2025
  • Buy Now, Pay Later Is Just Credit, Not a Crisis

    July 17, 2025
  • China’s heatwave fuels record power demand, strains grid

    July 17, 2025
  • Couche-Tard exit lets Seven & i refocus on core ops, but stock may stay muted

    July 17, 2025

Editors’ Picks

  • 1

    Meta executives eligible for 200% salary bonus under new pay structure

    February 21, 2025
  • 2

    Walmart earnings preview: What to expect before Thursday’s opening bell

    February 20, 2025
  • 3

    New FBI leader Kash Patel tapped to run ATF as acting director

    February 23, 2025
  • 4

    Anthropic’s newly released Claude 3.7 Sonnet can ‘think’ as long as the user wants before giving an answer

    February 25, 2025
  • 5

    Nvidia’s investment in SoundHound wasn’t all that significant after all

    March 1, 2025
  • 6

    Elon Musk says federal employees must fill out productivity reports or resign

    February 23, 2025
  • 7

    Cramer reveals a sub-sector of technology that can withstand Trump tariffs

    March 1, 2025

Categories

  • Economy (1,861)
  • Editor's Pick (184)
  • Investing (185)
  • Stock (1,225)
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Copyright © 2025 Portfolioperformancetoday.com All Rights Reserved.

Portfolio Performance Today
  • Investing
  • Stock
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Portfolio Performance Today
  • Investing
  • Stock
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Copyright © 2025 Portfolioperformancetoday.com All Rights Reserved.

Read alsox

Buy Now, Pay Later Is Just Credit,...

July 17, 2025

Could Quitting the United Nations Backfire?

May 26, 2025

Trump signs executive order to make healthcare...

February 26, 2025