US announces short-term funding for program to track Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia

Reuters reports this, citing Ukrinform.

“The funding is provided for a limited time while Conflict Observatory implementers provide advance access to critical child data to appropriate authorities. This is part of the standard exit process for terminated programs,” a State Department spokesperson said Thursday.

Earlier in March, Democratic lawmakers called on the Trump administration to reinstate the program.

The suspension of the programme has raised concerns about the possible loss of access to a wealth of information, including satellite imagery and other data, relating to some 30,000 children removed from Ukraine.

A U.S. government-funded initiative led by Yale University's Humanities Research Lab has helped track down thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.

The decision to end the program, called the Ukraine Conflict Observatory, came after Trump ordered a major audit to prevent what he said was the misuse of U.S. taxpayer funds.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in connection with the deportation of children. Russia condemned the warrants, calling them “outrageous and unacceptable.”

Read also: DOGE Musk stops funding task force to find Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia – media

Earlier, it was reported that the White House Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, suspended funding for the Yale University Humanities Research Lab, which was searching for Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia.

A group of Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives called on the Trump administration to reopen a program that helps search for Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia. In a joint letter, they said the decision has resulted in the loss of access to a significant amount of information, including satellite imagery and data on some 30,000 children abducted from Ukraine.

Reuters, citing sources, reported that the State Department's termination of its contract with Yale University's HRL resulted in the removal of $26 million in war crimes evidence that could have helped defend Putin.

Last week, the State Department denied media reports that records of Ukrainian children deported by Russia were deleted after funding was cut off for a Yale University project that was helping find them.