Europe accuses US of sabotaging missions to rescue Ukrainian children

On the sidelines of a security forum in Aspen (USA), a harsh statement was made that the Trump administration's actions are hindering international efforts to return Ukrainian children who were forcibly taken by Russia to its territory. The accusation was made by Council of Europe representative and Icelandic Foreign Minister Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjord Gilfadottir, Politico writes.

Russian forces have forcibly transferred some 20,000 Ukrainian children into Russian territory since 2022, after launching a full-scale invasion. According to human rights activists, this is a war crime. Moscow, on the other hand, calls such actions "humanitarian evacuation."

Reikfjord Gilfadottir said in an interview that cutting off funding for US programmes to track these children is a serious blow to international aid mechanisms. At issue are the Yale University projects in particular, which were suspended in March amid a freeze on U.S. foreign aid. Despite the State Department's promise of a short-term resumption of payments, Secretary of State Marco Rubio later reversed the decision.

"We're already seeing the consequences. Programmes are facing uncertainty and lack of resources," said Gilfadottir.

She said European countries will now have to make up the financial shortfall:

"We cannot stop tracking children now and then try to start again. It has to be an ongoing process."

The Yale School of Public Health nearly laid off its entire Ukrainian staff on 1 July, but unexpected private donations gave the project a reprieve until October.

"It's not clear whether this aid will continue. There is no systemic alternative yet," she noted.

Another major hurdle has been the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration against the International Criminal Court (ICC). The U.S. has not formally ratified the Rome Statute, but the Biden administration has been passing information to the ICC about child abductions and other alleged Russian war crimes. Those efforts were curtailed after Trump sanctioned the court in February for investigations into Israel.

"People are afraid to co-operate with an independent judiciary. They are afraid that they will be punished by the American administration," Gilfadottir emphasised. She added that American organisations that supported the ICC investigations were also under attack.

According to her, the return of the abducted children is an integral part of a just peace for Ukraine.

"It is a fundamental and indisputable element of any post-war arrangement. These children must return home," she stated.