Report: Trump Admin Ends Program Compiling Russian War Crimes

The State Department has ceased funding an initiative that was responsible for documenting supposed Russian war crimes in Ukraine, according to a report released on Tuesday. This initiative, which was spearheaded by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab, created a comprehensive database that tracked the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, as reported by The Washington Post.

Last month, researchers and specialists were informed that the State Department had ended the lab’s contract, a decision that was made under the direction of Peter Marocco, who was appointed by Trump, and the Department of Government Efficiency. This development meant that researchers no longer had access to important resources, such as satellite images and biometric data that tracked the identities and whereabouts of around 35,000 children from Ukraine, according to the Post.

A group of lawmakers, led by Rep. Greg Landsman of Ohio, expressed concern in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, stating, “We have reason to believe that the data from the repository has been permanently deleted.” The group warned that if this were true, it would have “devastating consequences.” They emphasized, “This vital resource cannot be lost.”

The lawmakers also raised the possibility that if the database had been moved rather than erased, the integrity of the data might have been compromised, making it inadmissible in legal proceedings. This news of the initiative’s funding being cut coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s acceptance of a proposal by President Donald Trump to halt attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure for a period of 30 days.

Trump and Putin held an extensive phone call as the White House continues to push for Russia’s agreement to a ceasefire that would last for 30 days, with the intention of bringing an end to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made it clear that any peace agreement must include the return of missing Ukrainian children and accountability for those who were involved in their abduction.

The Washington Post also reported that the termination of the war crimes initiative means that the Trump administration will not be providing evidence to prosecutors who are pursuing a number of criminal cases, including the International Criminal Court’s 2023 indictment of Putin for what it called the “unlawful transfer” of children from Ukrainian territories under Russian control. Last month, it was revealed that the U.S., under President Trump, had significantly altered its approach to the war, extending a peace offering to Russia in an attempt to facilitate a negotiation.

{Matzav.com}