A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is demanding answers after learning the Trump administration cut funding to a project tracking Ukrainian children abducted by Russia during the war.
Ohio Democratic Congressman Greg Landsman is leading the charge, pressing the administration to explain the move and ensure the preservation of investigation records.
In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the lawmakers claimed they have "reason to believe that data from the repository has been permanently deleted." It adds that if the evidence is not recovered, it "will result in the abandonment of at least 30,000 innocent children from Ukraine."
"Losing the data could mean that we lose the children," Landsman told Scripps News.
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The program, run by Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab, had been compiling satellite imagery, biometric data and other evidence of the forced relocation of Ukrainian children to Russia. This digital paper trail was intended to be used in potential war crimes prosecutions.
The State Department said on Wednesday that the data from the program has not been deleted.
Ukraine's missing children were brought up in a call with President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to the White House.
President Trump reportedly said he would work closely with Ukraine and Russia "to help ensure those children are safely returned home."
