The US government has made significant moves that impact the documentation of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Firstly, the Trump administration has cut funding for Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL), which had been instrumental in detailing the mass deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia ¹. This decision has sparked concern among lawmakers, with a bipartisan group of 17 members of Congress pushing back on the funding cut.
The HRL’s work is considered a “vital resource” in preserving evidence of children abducted from Ukraine. In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the lawmakers emphasized that the HRL has compiled data on 30,000 children abducted from Ukraine and is “absolutely crucial” to ensuring their return home. The lawmakers also expressed concern about the “concerning reduction in American leadership in countering these crimes”.
Moreover, the HRL’s work has been credited with being the basis for the International Criminal Court’s indictment of Putin over the abduction of Ukrainian children. Despite the funding cut, the US State Department has assured that it has not deleted any of the data collected by the HRL.
In addition to the funding cut, the US has also withdrawn from the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA). The ICPA was established to hold Russian leaders accountable for the “crime of aggression” in Ukraine and to preserve evidence and prepare cases for their trials in the future.
The US withdrawal from the ICPA and the funding cut for the HRL come after Trump spoke with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine. This move breaks with the previous US administration’s approach to holding Putin responsible for the Russian invasion.
Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has responded to claims about the funding cut, stating that the White House had nothing to do with it. However, Leavitt also mentioned that Trump spoke to Zelensky about the abducted children and promised to “work closely” with both the Russian and Ukrainian sides to ensure their return home.
Furthermore, Reuters has reported that several US national security agencies have stopped work on a coordinated effort to counter Russian cyberattacks and disinformation. This development raises concerns about the US commitment to addressing Russian aggression in Ukraine.
