Kateryna Hirnyk07:41, 18.07.25

US sanctions against the International Criminal Court also make it difficult to hold Russia accountable for the kidnapping.

US cuts to foreign aid and the Trump administration’s sanctions against the International Criminal Court are making it harder to find thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia during the war in Ukraine, said Council of Europe envoy Tordis Kolbrun Reykfjörd Reykfjörd Gylfadottir, who oversees the Council of Europe’s efforts to return deported Ukrainian children, Politico reports .

She noted that there are already signs that the end of US financial support for child tracing programs is making it more difficult to release children, as funding disruptions add uncertainty to the operations of these organizations.

Some organizations managed to preserve some of their tracking data. For example, the Humanities Research Laboratory at the Yale School of Public Health was preparing to lay off its Ukrainian staff on July 1, but last-minute private donations ensured its existence until October.

“European countries will have to fund this. We cannot stop tracking them and then start tracking them again in the coming months. So this has to continue,” she said.

US sanctions against the International Criminal Court also complicate the task of holding Russia accountable for the kidnapping, Reykfjördur Gylfadottir added.

“People are afraid to cooperate with independent courts to uphold the rules-based order and international law because they fear the consequences for the US administration,” she said.

At the same time, the official emphasized that the release of children is an important part of the process aimed at finally ending the war in Ukraine.

“It is non-negotiable, a fundamental part of a just peace – the return of these children,” Reykfjördur Gylfadottir said.

(c)UNIAN 2025