{"id":3077,"date":"2025-05-22T15:00:00","modified":"2025-07-17T14:14:07","slug":"fetterman-grassley-klobuchar-lead-bipartisan-call-for-return-of-kidnapped-ukrainian-children-prior-to-any-final-peace-agreement","link":"https:\/\/www.fetterman.senate.gov\/fetterman-grassley-klobuchar-lead-bipartisan-call-for-return-of-kidnapped-ukrainian-children-prior-to-any-final-peace-agreement\/","title":{"rendered":"Fetterman, Grassley, Klobuchar Lead Bipartisan Call for Return of Kidnapped Ukrainian Children Prior to Any Final Peace Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"3077\" class=\"elementor elementor-3077\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6856c19a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"6856c19a\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-75ca810c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"75ca810c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- wp:paragraph {\"align\":\"center\"} -->\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>Russia has kidnapped nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children to erase their cultural identity and heritage<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong>Washington, D.C.\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013\u00a0This week, U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) joined a bipartisan group of senators in introducing a resolution calling for the return of abducted Ukrainian children before any peace agreement is finalized ending the war against Ukraine.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The resolution condemns Russia\u2019s abduction and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children and notes Russia\u2019s invasion has increasingly exposed children to human trafficking and exploitation, child labor, sexual violence, hunger, injury, trauma and death.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cIt is unthinkable that innocent children are being used as pawns in Putin\u2019s unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine,\u201d\u00a0<strong>said Senator Fetterman.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cI will always stand in lockstep with our ally Ukraine and fight to secure its freedom and safety. That includes advocating for the unconditional release of all the children abducted into Russia over the course of this war. We won\u2019t rest until they are safely home in their families\u2019 arms.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong>The resolution was led by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and cosponsored by Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Rick Scott (R-FL).<\/strong><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cPutin\u2019s inhumane and unprovoked attack on Ukraine started the largest war in Europe since World War II,\u201d\u00a0<strong>said Senator Grassley.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cHe has kidnapped thousands of children to brainwash and Russify them in an attempt to destroy their cultural identity and heritage. The United States ought to demand these children are returned before inking a deal to end the war in Ukraine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cThe mass kidnapping of Ukrainian children by Russia is an atrocity,\u201d\u00a0<strong>said Senator Klobuchar.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cWe cannot accept a world where children are abducted during wartime and used as a form of hostage-taking for negotiations. These children must be returned unconditionally before any peace deal is finalized.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong>Organizations endorsing the resolution include: World Relief, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (Southern Baptist Convention), Christian Life Commission &amp; Center for Cultural Engagement (Texas Baptists), Peace &amp; Power Ukraine Host Gary Marx, National Association of Evangelicals and Lifeline Children\u2019s Services.<\/strong><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The resolution follows an April letter sent by forty religious leaders to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for the return of the nearly 20,000 children forcibly transferred to Russia and Russian-controlled territories.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Ukrainian authorities have received at least 19,546 confirmed reports of unlawful deportations and forced transfers of Ukrainian children to Russia, Belarus or Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. The abductions aim to erase the children\u2019s Ukrainian names, language and identity. As of April 16, Ukraine and its partners have only managed to return 1,274 abducted children.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The State Department\u2019s 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report found Russia recruits or uses child soldiers, has a state-sponsored policy or pattern of human trafficking and is among the worst hubs for human trafficking in the world.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The full text of the resolution is available\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fetterman.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Returning-Kidnapped-Ukranian-Children-Resolution.pdf\">here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false}}