US cuts funding for probe into Russia’s forced deportation of Ukrainian children

A critical investigation into Russia's forced deportation of Ukrainian children, a key issue in any negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, has been disrupted after the Trump administration defunded a State Department contract with Yale University researchers.

The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab had uncovered extensive evidence supporting war crimes charges against Russia, alleging that thousands of Ukrainian children were forcibly taken and placed with Russian families. The evidence was used to charge Russian President Vladimir Putin with international crimes.

Scripps News has learned that the data, which was set to be transferred to the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, is now in limbo. Concerns are growing over the fate of the information, which is reportedly stored on secret State Department servers.

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At stake is not only the future prosecution of Putin for war crimes but also justice for Ukraine’s stolen children.

In December, Scripps News reported that Yale researchers secretly accessed Russian adoption databases, tracking more than 300 Ukrainian children. The report is considered the most detailed documentation to date of Russia’s alleged systematic deportation and coerced adoption of Ukrainian minors from occupied regions of eastern Ukraine.

It's believed Putin personally ordered the program.

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Using open-source intelligence and satellite imagery, Yale's lab traced how senior Russian officials and government aircraft were involved in transporting the children. The team presented its findings to the United Nations.

“Three hundred fourteen children from Ukraine have been placed in this systematic, Kremlin-directed program of coerced adoption and fostering,” Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of Yale's Humanitarian Research Lab said.

With the funding cut, the question remains: What will happen to the research and the prosecution efforts tied to it?

This development comes as the U.S. tries to secure a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. President Donald Trump and Putin are scheduled to speak on Tuesday.