A Yale University-based taskforce that helped locate hundreds of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia has lost its government funding following budget cuts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), The Telegraph reported on 15 March.
“Researchers at the Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) were notified recently that government funding for their work on the war in Ukraine has been discontinued,” a Yale spokesman said.
The HRL used “data and analysis from open-source and remote sensing” to investigate humanitarian crises worldwide, including the estimated 20,000 Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia since the 2022 invasion.
Working with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Bring Kids Back UA campaign, the Yale team had helped locate hundreds of abducted children. Approximately 1,240 have been repatriated so far.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former Tory leader, criticized the funding cut, telling The Telegraph: “This money does a phenomenal amount of good, helping kids get back to their families. It should be restored immediately.”
Senior Democrat Dick Durbin said that abducted Ukrainian children by Russia is “one of the most horrific” war atrocities.
According to Bring Kids Back data, 19,546 children were illegally taken from Ukraine since the war began. At least 2,442 of them were taken to Belarus. These numbers represent only officially documented cases. Russia claims the number is 700,000 children.
Ukrainian authorities have secured the return of 1,037 children. Nearly 600 of them returned in 2024.
“The depravity of Putin’s strategy is hard to imagine. But Putin and his government know no humanity or morality. It is not surprising that Putin would stoop to such a repulsive strategy,” Durbin said.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and his “children’s rights commissioner” Maria Lvova-Belova, citing the mass abduction of children.
DOGE was established after Donald Trump’s election promise to create a government efficiency commission. Musk, who actively supported Trump’s campaign, was chosen to lead this initiative. Though not an official government body, DOGE advises the White House on cost-cutting and implementing “entrepreneurial approaches to government,” according to reports.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in March that the Department of State has completed the review of the dismantled agency and has taken the decision to slash 83% of the USAID programs.
In 2023, Ukraine received nearly $18 billion in economic and military aid. The funding suspension impacts key initiatives, including local government reforms and power grid restoration, which Russia has systematically targeted with missile strikes. Programs supporting veterans, media organizations, and inclusion projects have also been forced to halt operations.
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