VFor some time now, I have expressed my dismay concerning the estimated 20,000 Ukrainian children who have been kidnapped and “re-homed” by Russian authorities since the start of Putin’s war in February of 2022 — a despicable war crime of the greatest magnitude and the utmost urgency, which Ukraine and its allies have been trying without success to rectify.

And now, a new report by the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab concludes “with high confidence” that Russian state-owned energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft have been directly involved in the transportation and political indoctrination of at least 2,158 children from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine since 2022.

The report identifies six camps in Russia and Russian-occupied territories to which children have been taken, including facilities owned by Gazprom subsidiaries, stating:

“Gazprom and Rosneft are critical components of President [Vladimir] Putin’s industrial-scale campaign of child deportation, transportation [and] indoctrination.” [Alex Raufoglu, RFE/RL, March 25, 2026.]

The children, from the Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, have been relocated to camps where they are indoctrinated into pro-Russian propaganda, patriotic education, and, in some cases, military activities.

While both Gazprom and Rosneft are the subjects of extensive sanctions by the US, UK and EU, the report identifies 44 subsidiaries and trade unions tied to the parent companies, some 80 percent of which are not currently under sanctions. Researcher Ruth Gibson said:

“This matters, because American foreign policy is . . . putting dollars directly into the pockets of two Russian companies implicated in the forcible transfer and reeducation of Ukrainian children.” [Id.]

And this month, a U.S. exception was granted allowing certain Russian oil shipments to proceed — in the hopes of alleviating some of the havoc created by Donald Trump’s invasion of Iran — potentially providing further benefit to the two energy giants.

But while Trump continues to play Russian Roulette with the world’s economy, the U.S. Congress, at least, has finally done something right in an effort to help the youngest, most innocent victims of Vladimir Putin’s war.

On March 25th, the same day the Yale report was released, a hearing was held by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission — a House of Representatives panel focused on global human rights — in which bipartisan support and a demand for accountability was issued.

And the following day, the U.S. Department of State announced that, in conjunction with Congress, it is “providing $25 million in new assistance to support the identification, return, and rehabilitation of Ukrainian children and youth who have been forcibly transferred or otherwise held away from their families and communities.” [Alex Raufoglu, RFE/RL, March 26, 2026.]

Comments from Congress included the following:

> From Chris Smith (R.-New Jersey): “There’s no space between us [Republicans and Democrats].”

> From Lloyd Doggett (D.-Texas): [The forced transfer of children] is not a side effect of war — it’s a crime.”

> And from Suzanne Bonamici (D.-Oregon): The fact that thousands of children remain unaccounted for is “gut-wrenching.” [Id.]

Personally, I would like to have seen a higher dollar figure offered; but the fact that bipartisan action has been taken is a huge step in the right direction . . . and proof that Congress can act, as a unified entity, when they really want to. And for that, honor is due.

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There is much more to the story of Ukraine’s missing children, and that will be the subject of my regular Sunday post on Putin’s hostages tomorrow. See you then.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/28/26