Will Trump fight to save abducted Ukrainian children, or sacrifice them to Putin?

President Trump faces a clear choice. He can save a staggering number of Ukrainian children — an achievement that may bring him closer to the Nobel Peace Prize he desires. Or he can ignore their plight, sentencing them to a life of brainwashing, subservience to Russia and subjugation, putting them at grave risk of trafficking and exploitation. 

Trump has stated that peace in Ukraine is one of the top priorities of his foreign policy. And while his aggressive posture toward President Volodymyr Zelensky and his controversial remarks about Ukraine’s territory and status in NATO may be perceived as part of a tricky negotiation strategy, the administration’s position on investigating and returning abducted Ukrainian children raises profound questions and concerns.  

In recent weeks, the White House has defunded Yale Humanitarian Research Lab — the only American-based organization investigating the abduction of Ukrainian children on the institutional level. This decision was followed by the suspension of a Europol evidence-sharing process, endangering accountability efforts behind the crime of abduction. 

This could have been swept under the rug as an oversight in the midst of a major federal reorganization, but days later the administration decided to withdraw from the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, a group investigating individuals responsible for the invasion of Ukraine, including President Vladimir Putin. It subsequently scaled back the work of the Department of Justice’s War Crimes Accountability Team, which provided immense help to Ukrainian authorities on the ground overwhelmed with investigations of more than 122,000 war crimes cases. 

Congress raised concerns about the possible deletion of the database, which has information about thousands of abducted children. State Department officials eventually denied the allegations, but the questions remain: Is the administration dropping investigations against Russia in preparation for the looming negotiations? Will the evidence of war crimes become a bargaining chip in negotiations with Putin? Is the administration giving up powerful leverage over Putin before the talks begin in earnest, instead of using that leverage in negotiations?  

Victims of Russia’s war crimes are not limited to kidnapped children, of course — they include women who have been assaulted, raped and killed, children who have been sexually abused in front of their parents, and evangelical priests who have been tortured and killed for being “America’s spies.” Will the Trump administration also trade justice for these innocents as part of its haggling with the Kremlin?  

The White House’s recent decisions seem even more controversial given that Trump supporters believe Russia is responsible for the abduction of Ukrainian children and support providing aid for Ukraine upon learning this fact. According to a poll conducted by Razom, 60 percent of Trump voters support aid for Ukraine under certain conditions: this percentage grows to 71 percent upon the respondents learning that Russia has abducted 19,546 children.  

Most Republicans do not support the president downplaying this issue. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), former chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, has hosted multiple hearings on Russia’s war crimes and has been a staunch defender of abducted children. Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have both co-sponsored a resolution condemning the abduction of Ukrainian children. The House passed the same resolution with a supermajority of 390 votes last year.  

Secretary of State Marco Rubio made it clear where America stands when it comes to kidnapping children during his G7 speech: “We’re sitting around as the world, sort of accepting that it’s normal and OK for you to go into a place, kidnap babies, kidnap teenagers, kidnap people who have nothing to do with any wars, that are not soldiers … it’s ridiculous, it’s sick, it’s disgusting.” In this case, he was referring to Hamas kidnapping Israeli hostages, but his sentiment remains correct — kidnapping people, especially children who have nothing to do with the war, is wrong and should be recognized as such, whether it’s Iran-sponsored Hamas or Russia and its proxies. 

Constituents and Congress both support standing up to Putin on the issue of children — the White House should realize that aligning with them is both good policy and good politics. 

To date, the Trump administration has yet to draw a single red line drafted in negotiations with Russia. The case of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia presents him with an easy one. It is an apolitical and bipartisan issue that unites not only Americans but the whole world. Trump should demand that Putin release his captive kids.  

Katya Pavelvych is an adviser at Razom for Ukraine.