After massive blowback following Elon Musk‘s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) canceling a crucial project tracking trafficked/exploited Ukrainian children, the Trump Administration has reportedly changed course—at least temporarily.
The program, known as Conflict Observatory, used satellite technology and other “forensic tools” to track illegally deported kids after Russia’s invasion and bombardment of Ukraine in 2022. From John Hudson at The Washington Post:
The temporary policy reversal, which has not been previously reported, gives the observatory authorization and funding for six additional weeks to complete the transfer of its repository to the European Union’s law enforcement agency, EUROPOL, to assist in the prosecution of crimes inside and outside Ukraine. The Trump administration’s actions had barred the observatory’s transmission of evidence to prosecutors pursuing criminal cases, including the ICC’s indictment of Putin for the “unlawful transfer” of children during the war. The repository tracked the identities and locations of several thousand Ukrainian children that went missing and are believed to be in Russia or Russian-occupied territory.
Kidnapping and trafficking Ukrainian children is a thorny issue for Putin and Russia, since it forms the basis of International Criminal Court (ICC)’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Putin and others involved in those crimes.
