Trump government restores financing for Russian war criminal surveillance

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The Trump administration temporarily restored the financing of an initiative that pursues alleged Russian war crimes after the support has been hired beforehand.

Restoration of funds for Ukraine Conflict Observatory

Funding for Ukraine Conflict Observatory was restored for six weeks, the source reported to CNN. This enables the evidence to be forwarded to alleged Russian war crimes, including the locations of over 30,000 kidnapped Ukrainian children, to the European Union's law enforcement agency.

A look back at the cuts of the funds

Last week CNN reported that the financing was ended and researchers have lost access to the important database of evidence. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that the financing of the program "due to the reviews we made ... what was in the interests of America", reduced.

reaction of the congress to the decision

The temporary change of direction, which first of the Washington Post was reported, after concerns the congress regarding the decision of the administration, the funds for the initiative are deleted. The contract for supporting Ukraine Conflict Observatory was among the thousands of foreign aid aid aid aid aid, which the administration ended. Critics have argued that these terminations were carried out without clear criteria and little consideration of the consequences.

Temporary financing commitment and data backup

"The financing is provided for a short period of time, while the Conflict Observatory implementers ensure that the critical data about the children will be handed over to the responsible authorities," said a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in a statement on Thursday. "It is part of the standard procedures for the completion of ended programs."

The non-profit organization Mitre, which is involved in Ukraine Conflict Observatory, said on Thursday that “the Foreign Ministry and Related Partners initiated a plan that enables the data to be transferred from the contract company to the US government.”

meaning of the collected evidence

The evidence collected by Ukraine Conflict Observatory were used in procedures for prosecution of Russian civil servants for alleged war crimes, including the arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court against the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a letter from MPs from the House of Representatives last week, it was found that the Humanitrian Research Lab (HRL) of the Yale University, which researched research for Ukraine Conflict Observatory, “created three reports based on satellite images and biometric data and the identities and locations from over 30,000 children from Ukraine at dozens Follow places. ”

political support for the return of kidnapped children

"This data is of crucial importance for the efforts of Ukraine to bring their children home," said the MPs in their letter to Foreign Minister Marco Rubio and Finance Minister Scott Bessent.

The importance of returning "the violent Ukrainian children" was a central topic in the meeting between high-ranking US and Ukrainian officials in Jeddah at the beginning of this month, according to a joint explanation after the meeting.

President Trump's commitment

In a conversation with the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj on Wednesday, President Donald Trump asked "about the children who have disappeared from Ukraine during the war, including those who were kidnapped," said an explanation of the conversation. "President Trump promised to work closely with both sides to ensure that these children return home."

Receive the evidence and further steps

In the letter of last week, which was led by the democratic MP Greg Landsman from Ohio, it was pointed out that the evidence is “preserved in order to share it with Europol and the Ukraine government to secure their return.”

"The financing of Yale HRL was discontinued and the status of the safe evidence repository is uncertain. This important resource must not be lost," it said in the letter.