The program that aims to help abducted Ukrainian children is getting temporary funding, as announced by the U.S. State Department on March 27, 2025. However, it is still planned to be terminated shortly.
Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab leads the initiative under the State Department's Conflict Observatory. It had taken advantage of biometric data and satellite imagery to track Russia's reported abduction of Ukrainian youths.
Temporary Funding for the Abducted Ukrainian Children Program
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it has been confirmed that at least 19,500 children were abducted, and only about 1,200 have since been returned. Ukraine's Children of War database released the information.
Yale's research, which had received funding from the United States government, has assisted officials in tracking thousands of these cases. However, researchers said they lost access to the database last month after authorities decided to terminate the contract and cut off critical evidence for war crimes investigations, according to the Kyiv Independent.
A spokesperson for the State Department said that the temporary short-term funding would allow the researchers to ensure the proper transfer of essential data on abducted children to relevant authorities. They added that it was part of the standard close-out procedures for terminated programs.
The situation comes as United States President Donald Trump's administration has made efforts to cut funding for a variety of agencies and initiatives, calling them "waste, fraud, and abuse." The series of terminated financial support has already affected various efforts to hold Russia accountable for its crimes against Ukraine.
Trump Administration's Funding Cuts
The efforts have already sparked backlash from various parties, including among members of Common Man for Ukraine, which is a small New Hampshire-based humanitarian non-profit. They said that the government needs to do more, not less, to help these affected children, USA Today reported.
Susan Mathison, a Common Man for Ukraine co-founder, said that the children whom Russia took had been subjected to re-education and deserve to be found and returned. She added that they need to do everything in their power to get these kids home.
Amid Republicans' efforts to terminate the program, Democratic lawmakers have been trying to call on the Trump administration to restore the program in full. The program's funding cut has raised concerns regarding the potential loss of access to a trove of information, such as satellite imagery and other data.
The situation comes as the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in March 2023 for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children's rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, as per Reuters.
