Researchers lose access to prove to Russian war crimes

Researchers lose access to prove to Russian war crimes

researchers have access to an important database with evidence for alleged Russian war crimes Contains locations of more than 30,000 kidnapped Ukrainian children. In addition, the financing of their work was set out how a letter from MPs and a source emerged that is familiar with the matter.

Financing of Ukraine Conflict Observatory set

The Trump administration has ended the financial support for Ukraine Conflict Observatory, an initiative of the Foreign Ministry, which was launched in May 2022 to collect, analyze and make evidence of war crimes committed by Russia and other atrocities in Ukraine. The funds were initially frozen as part of a comprehensive stop of foreign help at the end of January.

importance of the collected evidence

The collected evidence of Ukraine Conflict Observatory has already been used to concern Russian officials because of their alleged participation in war crimes, including the arrest warrant of the International Court of Justice against the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

loss of access to critical resources

According to an informed source, the database was switched off when the funds were closed and researchers from the University of Yale lost access. They were also withdrawn from access to all critical resources, such as satellite images, which are required to collect evidence of war crimes.

content of the database

The database not only contained information about the kidnapping of Ukrainian children, but also about other Russian war crimes such as attacks on energy infrastructure, civilian infrastructures and the destruction of cultural sites. It was specially structured to compile relevant elements for the persecution of war crimes. It is unclear who has access to this database and what will happen to the important evidence. It remains uncertain whether this evidence can be shared with organizations such as the EU Authority of Europe

The importance for the return of the children

The letter from the MPs states that the Humanitrian Research Lab (HRL) from Yale had created "three reports based on satellite images and biometric data and pursued the identities and locations of over 30,000 children from Ukraine at dozens of places." This data is crucial for the efforts of Ukraine to bring their children back. According to the MPs, the return "of the violently transferred Ukrainian children" became a central topic in a meeting between high-ranking US and Ukrainian officials in Jeddah. President Donald Trump asked in a phone call with the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj about "the children who have disappeared from Ukraine during the war, including those who were kidnapped."

concern of MPs about data loss

The letter, led by the democratic MP Greg Landsman from Ohio, pointed out that the evidence is “kept in order to share it with Europol and the Ukraine government to secure their return.” It was emphasized that the financing of the Yale HRL was discontinued and the status of the safe evidence was unknown, which is an enormous loss for this important resource. The MPs expressed concerns that the database may have been deleted permanently.

opinion of the State Foreign Ministry

officers of the Foreign Ministry reject the claim that the data has been deleted. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not consider the data for the Observatory. "The research data collected was not deleted to the best of our knowledge and belief and is currently being managed by a former partner of this contract."