A bipartisan, bicameral resolution unveiled on March 28 by U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) denounces the kidnappings of Ukrainian children by the Russian Federation.
“There are no two ways about this, the Russian Federation is abducting children and trafficking them to other families in Russia,” Rep. Bacon said. “We cannot sit by as Vladimir Putin acts like a ruthless dictator and steals children to try and build up Mother Russia.”
Rep. Bacon sponsored House Concurrent Resolution 29 with eight original cosponsors, including U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), to condemn the Russian Federation from taking more than 16,000 Ukrainian children from their families between Feb. 24, 2022, and March 22, 2023, through forced transfers and deportations, according to information provided by the lawmakers.
Earlier in March, the United Nations Human Rights Council determined that Russia’s actions were human rights violations. The International Criminal Court on March 17 issued an arrest warrant for Putin for the kidnappings.
“Mothers, fathers, grandparents, and siblings in Ukraine are crying out for their family members and I cannot imagine the devastation they are feeling as they have no idea where the children are,” said Rep. Bacon, who on Tuesday delivered a floor speech asking his colleagues to join in supporting his resolution.
The congressman also shared the story of Sashko and his mother Snizhana, who were captured in Mariupol in March 2022 and separated at a filtration camp. Sashko was placed in an orphanage, where after some time, he found a phone and secretly called his grandmother, according to Rep. Bacon.
She gathered up Sashko’s documents and risked her own freedom and possible detainment to go and get him, the lawmaker explained, noting that with the assistance of a network of government and non-government entities, the pair was reunited. However, the two have not heard from Sashko’s mother, nor do they know where she is, Rep. Bacon said.
The resolution condemns this practice, which the members say was employed by dictators like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, Augusto Pinochet, and other tyrants. And it rebukes nations that provide aid and support to the Russian Federation’s kidnapping enterprise, condemns the forced adoption of Ukrainian children, and implores the Russian Federation to work with international human rights and children welfare organizations to ensure the return of Ukrainian children to their home country and their families, according to the lawmakers’ information.
“Our bipartisan resolution not only condemns the illicit transfer of these children by the Russian government, it also calls for the return of all Ukrainian children to their home country,” said Rep. Panetta. “This resolution is another way that the United States Congress is taking a stand against Russia and its illegal forced deportations, and it’s a strong symbol of the enduring support by the United States for the Ukrainian government, families, and children.”
U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced companion legislation, Senate Resolution 128, in their chamber.