When Volodymyr Sahaidak heard that U.S. President Donald Trump had suspended funding for a Yale University research project investigating Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children, he was filled with frustration. Would those responsible ever face justice?
Sahaidak, the head of a children’s rehabilitation center in Kherson, Ukraine, had worked tirelessly to protect the children under his care when Russian forces invaded in 2022. He managed to hide most of them with relatives and staff, but not all. Some were taken to Russian-occupied territories against their will.
Now, with the U.S. withdrawing critical support for efforts to document these war crimes, many Ukrainians are left questioning whether justice will ever be served.
The Fight to Protect Ukraine’s Children
Since the start of the war, Ukraine has accused Russia of forcibly relocating more than 19,500 children to Russian-controlled areas. The Ukrainian government considers these abductions a war crime and has cited them as acts of genocide under international law.
Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab was leading efforts to document these violations. The project was part of a U.S.-backed initiative under the Biden administration, aimed at gathering evidence of crimes against humanity. However, with Trump’s decision to cut funding, the future of these investigations is now uncertain.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) had already taken action, issuing arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, over the deportation of Ukrainian children. But Russia has dismissed these charges, claiming that it relocated children for their safety.
Sahaidak, who had testified to ICC investigators about the forced removal of children from his center, was hopeful when the warrants were issued. But that hope quickly turned to disappointment when Trump’s administration sanctioned the ICC prosecutor leading the case.
“It’s wrong, and I’m worried that if this continues, Putin will walk away scot-free,” he said.
Abandoned by the U.S.?
For Inna Kholodnyak, chief doctor at Kherson’s main children’s hospital, the funding cuts are deeply concerning.
“To stop financing such an important project sends a dangerous message,” she said. “It tells the world that crimes can be committed without consequences. This will create a chain reaction.”
During the Russian occupation of Kherson, Kholodnyak and her staff went to great lengths to protect children in the hospital. They would exaggerate the severity of illnesses on medical records to prevent Russian authorities from taking them. Despite their efforts, some children, including a two-year-old boy named Illia Vashchenko, were taken. He was later issued a Russian birth certificate, effectively erasing his Ukrainian identity.
With Trump’s decision to defund the Yale project, experts fear that similar cases will be harder to track, and fewer perpetrators will be held accountable.
What Comes Next?
The White House has remained silent on the decision to withdraw support for the Yale initiative. However, a recent statement from Washington following talks in Saudi Arabia mentioned efforts to return abducted children to Ukraine, though it lacked specific details.
For Ukrainians like Sahaidak and Kholodnyak, this uncertainty is deeply troubling. While they still believe in justice, they fear that Trump’s approach to international law could allow Putin and other Russian officials to evade accountability.
“I have always believed in the victory of good and justice,” Kholodnyak said. “But with decisions like these, it becomes harder to hold on to that belief.”
Sahaidak is even less optimistic.
“Until Ukraine becomes a powerful country, there will be no real justice,” he said.
