Last week, it was revealed that the U.S. State Department terminated contracts with a humanitarian organization that was tracking the fate of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This situation could mean that the U.S. is effectively helping Russia conceal potential war crimes, making diplomatic efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine more difficult. Despite this, the State Department refuses to explain the reasons and circumstances behind the contract termination.
More than a dozen members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stating that critical data collected during the monitoring of abducted Ukrainian children may have been deleted after the contract termination. The U.S. State Department has officially confirmed the cancellation of the contract with the organization tracking kidnapped Ukrainian children, CNN reports. This could mean that many of these children may disappear from the view of international observers.
According to the department's statement, continuing this contract was allegedly "not in the interests of the U.S.". A State Department representative also assured that the collected data was not deleted but transferred to a subcontractor. However, no additional details have been provided on the matter.
The contract, initially approved under the Biden administration, was made with the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University. Researchers there used advanced technology to identify and locate Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. The international community considers these actions war crimes; in 2023, the International Criminal Court even issued charges against Russian officials for orchestrating the abductions.
The Yale research team achieved significant results: they located thousands of children using satellite images, biometric data, and other modern methods. In December, the lab revealed the names of 314 of these children and presented evidence to the UN Security Council, arguing that the mass abduction of Ukrainian children should be classified as crimes against humanity.
This situation places Marco Rubio in an extremely awkward position and raises growing concerns about how responsibly the State Department handled the contract termination and whether it jeopardized critically important data. Furthermore, this incident could draw increased scrutiny to the role of Peter Marocco, a figure appointed to the State Department to implement Elon Musk’s policy of weakening governmental structures from within. Marocco is known for his sympathy towards authoritarian leaders and pro-Russian regimes.
The contract with the Yale lab was suspended in January as part of a funding freeze initiated by the Trump administration and Elon Musk. However, its final termination by the State Department has led to even more severe consequences. Specifically, the collected evidence and data on abducted children will no longer be transferred to Europol—the European Union’s law enforcement agency. Additionally, some of the information will apparently not reach the Ukrainian authorities.
Researchers from Yale University had been preparing these digital records for transfer. The technology used to track and identify children is highly advanced, making these materials a key tool not only for proving the abductions but also for continuing to monitor the missing children. The transfer of such data requires heightened security and specialized communication channels; however, due to the contract termination, this process has been disrupted.
But another crucial question arises: who specifically made the decision to terminate the contract, and did this person have any role in the disappearance of critical information?
For instance, Peter Marocco has already gained notoriety as the "chief liquidator" within U.S. government structures, having almost single-handedly carried out Elon Musk’s directive to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Such actions have been openly welcomed by Russia and other authoritarian regimes.
Peter Marocco.
The Washington Post publishes an excerpt from a recording of a meeting between Peter Marocco—an official overseeing international aid programs—and representatives of the U.S. State Department. According to the audio recording obtained by The Post, Marocco criticized the Yale-led initiative, calling the $13 million spent on it "wasteful."
As Adam Smith points out, the Trump administration is sending contradictory signals. Does it truly aim to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine while considering Kyiv’s interests (as Rubio previously claimed)? Or is it seeking to restore relations with Putin, sacrificing Ukraine for its own strategic goals?
The way the State Department handles the missing evidence of abducted Ukrainian children will be a key indicator of the Trump administration’s real intentions, Smith argues: "It will be a crucial test of which of these two scenarios is actually unfolding."