The US Congress calls for a more thorough investigation into Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children
According to Intelligence Online, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is facing mounting pressure from Congress to take the lead and step up the State Department’s efforts regarding Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children.
US lawmakers are insisting on expanding investigations into cases of children being forcibly removed from the occupied territories of Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian estimates, at least 20,000 children have been affected since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Efforts by US intelligence to document such cases are being hampered by the lack of engagement from the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. In 2025, a special coordination mechanism tasked with recording such cases was discontinued.
The US Congress is now calling for the reinstatement of a separate coordination body responsible for documenting alleged violations by Russia.
Although in December 2025 lawmakers extended the mandate of this structure until 2028 and expanded its powers, Congress states that the mechanism has not yet been fully restored.
The US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee plans to allocate around $15 million to gather and analyse information on Ukrainian children believed to have been illegally removed.
Lawmakers are also demanding a detailed report from Marco Rubio on the State Department’s work in this area, including an assessment of Belarus’s possible role.
At the end of March, the US State Department announced the allocation of up to $25 million for programmes to identify and return children. Previous US diplomatic efforts have mainly focused on the adoption of Ukrainian children in the United States, rather than on documenting suspected deportations.
