The Prime Minister's pledge the UK would do 'everything' it could to help end the abduction of Ukrainian children comes after he was asked about The i Paper's story revealing Trump had axed a scheme rescuing kids stolen by Russia
The UK will “do everything” it can to help end the “sickening” and “grotesque” abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia, the Prime Minister has committed.
Keir Starmer made the promise during Prime Minister Questions in the House of Commons after he was asked about The i Paper’s revelation that the Trump administration had axed funding for a programme run by Yale University that rescues children abducted by Russia.
Starmer’s statement came as he was watched on in the chamber by a Ukrainian delegation, including members of Bring Kids Back, a organisation tasked with repatriating their country’s stolen children.
The British leader stopped short of offering a financial committment to the Yale unit but confirmed the issue is a priority for Britain.
He said: “Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children is sickening, and across the house, we would all agree on that a peace settlement in Ukraine must see Russia held to account and the children reunited with their families.”
The decision to axe the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab’s Ukraine work has prompted anger from both sides of the Atlantic, including criticism from Christian groups and senior members of the President’s own party.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the presidential council for culture and art, held via a video link in Moscow, Russia, March 25, 2025. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of war crimes over the deportation of Ukrainian children.
Labour MP Blair McDougall is among the British politicians who has raised alarm over the termination of the Yale programme. He called the abductions “an act of pure evil” and asked if the UK would consider using existing funds earmarked for Ukraine to restore the team assisting in the return of the abducted children.
Mr Starmer responded: “The UK is playing our full part in international efforts, including funding the Bring Kids Back initiative through the Partnership Fund for resilient Ukraine.
“I want to reassure the whole house will do everything we can to see these children returned and reintegrated as safely and as quickly as is possible.”
Speaking to The i Paper after PMQs, McDougall responded to the leader and said: “I hope that they can now work with international allies to ensure continuity in the [Yale] investigation.
“If it were our own children who had been abducted we would be horrified if investigators took a break in looking for them.”
The Yale Lab’s work on Ukraine includes the use of open source technology to trace the country’s children who have been forcibly taken into Russia. Their work was shared with Ukraine to help repatriate them, as well as bodies such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Europol.
The ICC has accused Vladimir Putin and Russian children’s commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, of war crimes related to the deportation of children. The Kremlin denies wrongdoing, claiming the adoptions by Russians are to help “abandoned” children.
The US State Department has been forced to repeatedly deny that the evidence collected by the Yale unit had been lost or deleted, with further assurances issued to confirm the sensitive data had remained secure.
There have been more than 19,500 reports of “unlawful deportation and forced transfer of children” by Russia, with around 1,240 victims repatriated.