The UK and its allies should work together to rescue Ukrainian children stolen by Russia, MPs have demanded.
It comes after The i Paper revealed that a world-leading American unit that finds the children has been axed amid Elon Musk’s slashing of US government spending.
It is understood that the UK Government may be asked to step in to make up the funding shortfall for the specialist team based at Yale University.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said the Government is “working to assess the implications of the US funding pause across development programmes”.
Alex Sobel, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Ukraine, said: “All of us in democratic countries should be maximising efforts and support to rescue these children.”
The former security minister Tom Tugendhat also said efforts to rescue the children should be supported by every country, including the UK.
Three Ukrainian children who were rescued from Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine. The children were aged between three and 17 (Photo: Ombudsman’s office of Ukraine)The Conservative MP said: “Russia has stolen an estimated 20,000 children from Ukraine in what can only be described as a slave raid on Ukrainian young people for Putin’s wars. This is one of the most brutal crimes we’re seeing in Ukraine today.
“Every country should make every effort to help get these children back.”
There have been more than 19,500 reports of children being removed from Ukraine and taken to Russia during the conflict, in a campaign of “unlawful deportation”.
square WORLD ExclusiveMusk cuts the team finding Ukrainian children stolen by Russia
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The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab used open source technology to trace hundreds of lost children. It would would pass information to the Ukrainian authorities working to bring back the children and to agencies assembling legal evidence to hold the Kremlin to account for its actions in the war.
But the team has had its funding paused amid tech tycoon Musk’s chainsaw slashing of the federal budget via the so-called department of government efficiency.
The funding cut could hamper Ukraine’s capabilities to reunite more children with their families.
Sobel said: “One of the worst aspects of Russia’s occupation of large parts of Ukraine is the abduction and Russification of thousands of Ukrainian children. Many of them don’t know who their parents are or even that they are Ukrainian.
“They are being brought up to hate Ukraine and even being groomed to be future soldiers for Russia against Ukraine. It’s the ultimate barbarism.
He added: “All of us in democratic countries should be maximising efforts and support to rescue these children.”
Concerns over the funding decision are growing, with Labour MP Johanna Baxter, who recently met with the Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, saying: “It is crucial that the international community, including those in the United States, give the same urgency and leadership to bringing those children home because behind every number is a child and a family torn apart.
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“Kidnapping children is not just a war crime – it is an act of evil beyond comprehension. I am pleased the Prime Minister agrees with me that this is a moral outrage that requires our urgent attention.”
A Yale University spokesperson said: “While we are not in a position to comment on the State Department’s decision, we recognise the importance of HRL’s work and its contributions to international efforts to protect vulnerable populations, including Ukrainian children.”
When The i Paper approached the US State Department for a response to its investigation into the funding cut for the Yale unit, it was referred to the White House, which is yet to comment.
The i Paper also contacted the Ukrainian foreign ministry for comment but did not receive a response.
Ukraine’s embassy in the UK declined to comment.
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