On 8 July, Russia officially declared Yale University, one of the most renowned universities in the world, an “undesirable organization” on its territory. Its lab tracked more than 30,000 Ukrainian children abducted by Russia and provided the data to Ukrainian and US government authorities, Current Time reports.
Since 2014, Russia has been forcibly taking Ukrainian children from occupied territories and reprogramming them as part of a state-sponsored cultural genocide. Russia aims to re-educate these children, stripping them of their Ukrainian identity and integrating them into Russian society. This includes military training and indoctrination with Russian propaganda.
Following this designation, any cooperation with Yale University in Russia is prohibited, and individuals face criminal liability for violations.
According to a statement by the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, Yale’s activities are allegedly aimed at violating its territorial integrity, contributing to the international blockade of the state, and undermining its economy.
The statement also specifically mentioned Yale’s School of Global Affairs, which, according to Russian authorities, “trains opposition leaders of foreign countries.”
A likely reason for such a move is the investigative work of Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab, which had been gathering evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
The university's team provided their findings to Ukrainian authorities through the Bring Kids Back UA campaign, a humanitarian program initiated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The campaign focuses on returning minors to Ukraine, reintegration efforts, and documenting crimes for potential prosecution at the International Criminal Court.
The Yale researchers not only tracked deported children but also documented other alleged Russian crimes, including filtration camps, forced Russian citizenship, re-education camps for minors, and the transfer of Ukrainian children to Russian families.
However, as of 1 July 2025, the lab ceased operations following cuts in federal funding by the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Read also
-
Every Russian attack on Kyiv costs the city about $12 million. They now come almost twice in week
-
Ukraine’s drones hit two Russian fighters and a spy drone—and blinded radars from occupied Crimea to Rostov
-
Russia holds up to 20,000 Ukrainian civilians in captivity. One of newest is teacher who stayed in her occupied village to care for her 83-year-old mother
