In Washington, the U.S. Senate has introduced the first bipartisan resolution since the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency that directly addresses the terms of negotiations with Russia regarding the end of the war in Ukraine. Senators Chuck Grassley (Republican from Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (Democrat from Minnesota) spearheaded the initiative behind the resolution, which calls for the return of all Ukrainian children abducted by Russia before any peace agreement is signed. The resolution is backed by lawmakers from both parties, including Joni Ernst, Roger Wicker, Dick Durbin, John Fetterman, and Rick Scott.
This is stated in the official U.S. Senate Resolution titled “Calling for the Return of Abducted Ukrainian Children Before Finalizing Any Peace Agreement to End the War Against Ukraine” and published on website official website.
“The Senate supports a peaceful and just conclusion to the war in Ukraine and insists that all abducted Ukrainian children must be returned before finalizing any peace agreement,” the resolution states.
The document condemns the abduction of at least 19,546 Ukrainian children by Russia and their forced transfer to the Russian Federation, Belarus, or Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. As of mid-April 2025, only 1,274 children had been returned to Ukraine.
The resolution states that such actions constitute violations of the Geneva Convention and the Genocide Convention. It places special emphasis on changes to Russian adoption laws, which are used to “Russify” the children by stripping them of their Ukrainian names, language, and identity.
The resolution also references a U.S. State Department report that designates Russia as a state that recruits child soldiers, practices state-sponsored human trafficking, and is among the worst hubs for human trafficking globally. The U.S. has already imposed sanctions on at least 32 individuals and 3 entities from Russia and its occupation forces for their involvement in the abduction, “re-education,” and rights violations of Ukrainian minors.
“Putin has stolen thousands of children to brainwash and Russify them in an attempt to destroy their cultural identity and heritage. The United States must demand the return of these children before signing any agreement to end the war in Ukraine,” emphasized Senator Chuck Grassley.
His colleague, Емі Amy Klobuchar, stressed that using children as hostages is unacceptable:
“Russia’s mass abduction of Ukrainian children is horrifying. We cannot accept a world in which children are kidnapped during war and used as bargaining chips in negotiations. These children must be unconditionally returned before any peace deal is made,” Klobuchar added.
The resolution has received support from leading U.S. religious organizations, associations, and humanitarian groups. Earlier, forty faith leaders sent a letter to President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for action.
According to the participants media consultant for Razom for Ukraine and former Pentagon correspondentVoice of America, this is “the first Senate resolution since Donald Trump’s return to power that is supported by Republicans and calls for action on the negotiation process with Russia”.
Author: Inna Mikhno