Uncommon bonds: Tracking abductions of Ukrainian children

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to restore funding for the program, called the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab’s Conflict Observatory, in order to allow it to complete its work.

The group is led by Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, and includes Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Joe Wilson, R-S.C. They wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month urging him to keep funding flowing to the Conflict Observatory until the “modest amount” they’ve requested through the congressional appropriations process for the program can become law.

While the Conflict Observatory’s data was transferred to Europol earlier this year, the lawmakers argue that the Yale program is the only way to maintain accurate information on the kidnapped children who have yet to be returned to Ukraine.

“There are no two ways about this: The Russian Federation is abducting children and trafficking them to other families in Russia,” Bacon told Semafor in a statement. “We cannot sit by as Vladimir Putin acts like a ruthless dictator and steals children to try and build up Mother Russia.”

“Mothers, fathers, grandparents, and siblings in Ukraine are crying out for their family members, and I cannot imagine the devastation they are feeling, as they have no idea where the children are,” he added.

Doggett called it a “real save-the-children moment, adding that “abandoning these children to Russia would abandon core American values.”

A separate, Democrat-only letter sent to Rubio recently claimed that $8 million was set aside for the now-shuttered State Department bureau that oversaw the Yale-led initiative at the end of 2024 — during the Biden administration. They asked for that money to be distributed to the program.

Ukraine has said that roughly 20,000 children have been taken by Russia. In an interview, Nathaniel Raymond, the Yale lab’s executive director, told Semafor that their research suggests there are some 35,000 children in Russian custody across 116 locations; the group needs the funding to confirm that number, he added.

“If we go down, the main tactical support for the government of Ukraine to identify the names, locations and the number of children that have been abducted goes away,” Raymond said.

The lawmakers have not received a formal response from the State Department to their letter, two congressional aides told Semafor. Doggett has also asked to speak with Rubio, an aide said, but hasn’t received a response.

A State Department official told Semafor that the funding for the program was paused as part of the administration’s foreign assistance review and later terminated, but didn’t offer an explanation of the reasoning.

“Funding was provided for a short period following the termination decision to the Conflict Observatory implementers to ensure the proper transfer of data to the appropriate authorities. It is part of the standard closeout procedures for terminated programs,” the official added.

The Yale lab’s work tracking the Ukrainian abductions will cease on July 1 absent more funding, Raymond said.

The program has made headlines since March, when The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration was terminating it. Pete Marocco, who at the time was in charge of gutting USAID, reportedly held up the $13 million spent on the program as an example of government waste during a private meeting.

Days later, the Trump administration reinstated the program under pressure from lawmakers, but only temporarily — to allow the data to be transferred to Europol.