U.S. halts Yale-led initiative on tracking Ukrainian child deportations

Reuters reports this. 

The administration halted a Yale University-led initiative that used satellite imagery and other data to monitor the mass deportation of Ukrainian children. Lawmakers say this decision erased key evidence.

“We have reason to believe the data has been permanently deleted. If true, this would have devastating consequences,” said a letter from Rep. Greg Landsman and others to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

A source familiar with the program said canceling the State Department contract erased $26 million worth of war crimes evidence. “If you wanted to protect President Putin from prosecution, you nuke that thing. And they did,” the source said.

Lawmakers also called for sanctions against Russian and Belarusian officials involved in the abductions. “These egregious, openly acknowledged violations of children’s rights demand consequences,” they wrote.

Ukraine considers the abductions a war crime and an act of genocide under U.N. law. Russia claims it is evacuating children for their safety.

The move coincided with Trump’s call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, during which Russia refused to agree to a full ceasefire. Meanwhile, the U.S. also pulled support from an international effort to prosecute Putin for war crimes.