In a rather uncommon turn of events, President Donald Trump of the United States has decided to bring back funding for a group at Yale University that was looking into Ukrainian kids being forcibly taken to Russia. This change of heart came about after the cause made a splash and caused a lot of upset.
The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, or HRL for short, was studying a situation where over 20,000 Ukrainian children had been abducted and moved. Elon Musk was also making cuts in the money that the government gives to different projects, and this affected their work.
Because so many people were upset and putting pressure on the government, the HRL got a temporary lifeline with six more weeks of funding. They can keep working and hand over what they’ve found to the Europol. It’s a win for those who want to keep kids safe, but the future is still shaky. We’re not sure if the money will keep coming after May.
The decision to cut funding for Yale’s program sparked an instant uproar. The Yale team’s efforts are vital in monitoring the forcible relocation of Ukrainian children to Russia. This news created quite a political storm, with both sides of the aisle in the U.S. and pressure from European friends speaking out against it.
Labour MP Blair McDougall, who sits on the UK’s Foreign Affairs Committee, thanked The i Paper for shedding light on the situation. “This is welcome news, though not cause for celebration,” McDougall stated. “It’s good that they have a reprieve, but what about the long-term future of the team?”
Even religious groups in the U.S., who usually support Donald Trump, were unhappy about this. They told the government that stopping this program could hurt how people see America’s moral compass. These Christian organizations have a history of fighting for kids who are in tough spots, so their voice carries some weight.
Ukrainian Orthodox Christians defy the ban on holding religious processions in Ukraine. 30,000 Orthodox Christians showed up to pray for God to have mercy on Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/cduzY9BgK9
— Theophan (@uncreated_light) August 26, 2024
So, the short-term crisis will perhaps be avoided, but there is still plenty of concern about what happens next for the Yale crew and their valuable work.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, there have been many reports of thousands of Ukrainian children being forcibly removed from their families. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has charged both Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, and Maria Lvova-Belova, who is responsible for children’s affairs in Russia, with serious war crimes due to these actions.
A Ukrainian group called Bring Kids Back UA has been documenting these tragic incidents and claims to have documents for more than 19,500 instances of “unlawful deportation and forced transfer of children.” In December, a report from Yale University was able to confirm where 314 of these children are, which is a big deal in the fight to show what Russia has done is wrong.
Mykola Kubela, who started a charity called Save Ukraine, is happy about this step but believes we need to do much more. “It’s a good step, but we need 100 steps. We need not only research but also the ability to return these children.”
‼️ Bringing Ukrainian Children Home Is Becoming Increasingly Difficult!
Russian occupiers continue to create new obstacles to prevent our children from returning home. Repressions at checkpoints are becoming harsher, especially against orphans. These children are terrified,… pic.twitter.com/9WpVuuWjNF
— Mykola Kuleba (@MykolaKuleba) March 28, 2025
While Yale’s efforts have started up again, there’s a growing concern about what will happen when the money runs out in May. Mariana Betsa, a key person in Ukraine’s foreign affairs, stressed how vital the lab’s work is. “Any documentation of these crimes and investigations will help,” she told The i Paper.
A spokesperson for Yale University said, “HRL has received a six-week funding extension from the State Department and is completing the evidence preservation activities that were terminated on February 27. HRL’s repository of data will be transferred to Europol in the coming weeks.”
But even with this extra time, everyone is still really worried about what happens next. The Kremlin keep saying they didn’t do anything wrong. They say the kids who Russian families adopted were “abandoned,” and they’re helping them. However, different experts think that what Russia is doing is taking away part of Ukraine’s culture and teaching the kids to be more Russian.
If Yale doesn’t get more money to keep working, it might have to stop, and that would mean thousands of families in Ukraine won’t know what happened to their children.
