Four years ago, the Russian Federation launched an unprovoked, large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Soon thereafter, Russian authorities announced that children born in occupied Ukrainian territories after the invasion would be deemed Russian citizens, which is a violation of Ukrainian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
 
Since then, Ukrainian authorities have received over 20,000 confirmed reports of unlawful deportations and forced transfers of Ukrainian children, and the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab has identified at least 210 facilities in Russia-occupied Crimea or Russia involved in the systematic academic, cultural, patriotic, and military re-education of Ukrainian children. This is unacceptable and is why we are introducing a resolution to condemn the actions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, including the illegal abduction and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.
 
Russia’s abduction and Russification of Ukrainian children demonstrates the intent of the Government of the Russian Federation to erase the Ukrainian nation and identity. Please join us in co-sponsoring this resolution to shed a light on the horrors these Ukrainian children face.