On Tuesday, a bipartisan group of US senators introduced a new resolution urging the return of all abducted Ukrainian children before signing any peace agreement to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
This issue has become a crucial component of the international arrest warrant for war crimes against key Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin.
The resolution is led by Senators Chuck Grassley (Republican, Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, Minnesota), along with five bipartisan co-sponsors: Joni Ernst (Republican, Iowa), Dick Durbin (Democrat, Illinois), Roger Wicker (Republican, Mississippi), John Fetterman (Democrat, Pennsylvania), and Rick Scott (Republican, Florida).
As of April 16, 2025, Ukrainian authorities have received at least 19,546 confirmed reports of illegal deportations and forced transfers of Ukrainian children to Russia, Belarus, or occupied territories.
The senators condemned the forced displacement of Ukrainian children, highlighting the increasing risks of human trafficking, exploitation, child labor, sexual violence, starvation, injury, and death due to Putin's invasion.
Grassley stated that Putin has “kidnapped thousands of children to subject them to ideological processing and Russification, attempting to destroy their cultural identity and heritage.” He emphasized that the United States must demand the return of these children before signing any peace deal.
Klobuchar added that the mass abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia is a crime against humanity, insisting that these children must be returned unconditionally before any peace agreement is made.
Organizations supporting the resolution include World Relief, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (Southern Baptist Convention), the Christian Life Commission, and Razom for Ukraine, a leading American non-profit supporting Ukraine.
This initiative marks an important step in fulfilling former President Donald Trump’s promise from March 19 to ensure the return of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia to their families.
During a phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky on March 19, Trump pledged to work closely with “both sides” to facilitate the return of these children home despite the cessation of US funding for investigations aimed at identifying them.
The investigations were conducted by the Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) at Yale University’s School of Public Health.
In its report presented to the UN Security Council last December, HRL stated it had identified 314 Ukrainian children placed in a “systematic, Kremlin-controlled program of forced adoption and upbringing.”
On Tuesday, May 20, HRL Executive Director Nathaniel Raymond commented to the Kyiv Post, welcoming the senators’ initiative.
The resolution introduced by Senators Grassley and Klobuchar is a vital step towards ensuring the swift return of abducted Ukrainian children from Russia and preventing Putin from holding children from another country in violation of the Geneva Conventions.
Mykola Kuleba, CEO and founder of the organization “Save Ukraine” and former Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Ukraine, stated that abducted Ukrainian children “rely on the moral leadership of the United States.”
“Since 2022, Russia has been illegally transporting Ukrainian children from their homes, exposing them to human trafficking, identity destruction, and militarization, which constitutes a gross violation of human rights and international law,” Kuleba stated in a comment published by Razom.
“As the head of a non-profit organization working to rescue and return these children to their families, I am grateful for every voice raised in their defense. We deeply appreciate the leaders calling for action to ensure the safe return of these children,” Kuleba added.
The Senate resolution continues a letter sent in April by forty religious leaders to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging the return of nearly 20,000 children forcibly transported to Russia and Russian-controlled territories.
