US senators demand Russia return kidnapped Ukrainian children before any peace agreement

WASHINGTON

A group of US senators introduced a resolution for the return of abducted Ukrainian children from Russia before any peace agreement is finalized to end the Ukraine war.

Sens. Chuck Grassley and Amy Klobuchar led a bipartisan group of senators in introducing the resolution, which condemns Russia’s "abduction and forcible" transfer of Ukrainian children.

According to the resolution, Russia’s "invasion has increasingly exposed" children to human trafficking and exploitation, child labor, sexual violence, hunger, injury, trauma and death.

"Putin’s inhumane and unprovoked attack on Ukraine started the largest war in Europe since World War II. He 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," Grassley said in a statement on Tuesday.

Klobuchar said the "mass kidnapping" of Ukrainian children by Russia is an "atrocity."

"We 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," she added.

The resolution follows an April letter sent by 40 religious leaders to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for the return of nearly 20,000 children "forcibly" transferred to Russia and Russian-controlled territories.