US Senators propose recognizing Russia and Belarus as state sponsors of terrorism due to abduction of Ukrainian children
Kyiv • UNN
American senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal are considering a bill to recognize Russia and Belarus as state sponsors of terrorism. This is due to the systematic abduction of Ukrainian children during the war, which threatens their Ukrainian identity.
American senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal are considering a bill that could officially recognize Russia and Belarus as state sponsors of terrorism due to the systematic abduction of Ukrainian children during the war. This is reported by UNN with reference to NBC News.
Details
Senators are discussing the introduction of a bill to the US Senate, which, if passed, would impose official state sponsor of terrorism status on Russia and Belarus. The initiative is based on media reports and assessments by the Ukrainian government, which record tens of thousands of abducted or displaced children since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
According to reliable data, the Russian Federation abducts, deports, or displaces Ukrainian children aged from several months to 17 years. President Putin's regime seeks to "Russify" Ukrainian children through abduction, deportation, or displacement to destroy their Ukrainian identity
If the bill is passed, Russia will be given 60 days to prove that the missing children have been reunited with their families or guardians in a safe environment, and that a process of full reintegration of such children into Ukrainian society is underway. Otherwise, the US Secretary of State will be obliged to officially recognize Russia and Belarus as state sponsors of terrorism.
Blumenthal and Graham handed a copy of the bill to President Zelenskyy during a meeting in Rome last month.
US First Lady Melania Trump also expressed support for Ukraine, sending Putin a letter calling for an end to child abductions. Also on Saturday, leaders of eight Baltic countries in a joint statement called on Russia to urgently return children who were abducted from the occupied territories.
We demand that Russia immediately return the children abducted from the occupied territories
Recall
Recently, the Prosecutor General's Office reported that armed Russian military personnel and collaborators took 15 children from the Novopetrivka special school in Mykolaiv Oblast to Anapa. Prosecutors identified all involved, secured their inclusion in sanctions lists, and submitted an indictment to the court, qualifying the actions as a war crime.
In addition, Russian occupiers created an online catalog with Ukrainian children from Luhansk region, where their photos and character descriptions are posted for adoption. Public activists call this child trafficking, which legalizes their abduction.