Marcy Kaptur
03/25/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/25/2026 11:23
Ukraine Caucus Statement Calling for Stronger Russia Sanctions Following New Report Implicating Rosneft and Gazprom in Abduction and Militarization of Ukrainian ChildrenPress[...]
Washington, DC - Today, Co-Chairs of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus-Representatives Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Mike Quigley (IL-05), and Joe Wilson (SC-02)-along with Ukraine Caucus Member Representative Greg Landsman (OH-01), issued the following statement in response to a new report from the Yale School of Public Health's Humanitarian Research Lab (Yale HRL), which links Russian energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft to Russia's illegal and systemic kidnapping, detention, indoctrination, and militarization of Ukrainian children. The report comes amid recent efforts by the Administration to ease oil sanctions on these same Russian entities. Representatives Kaptur, Fitzpatrick, and Quigley previously released a statement opposing that decision, which can be found here.
"The new report from Yale HRL shows a direct and deeply disturbing connection between major Russian oil and gas entities and the detention, militarization, and ideological reprogramming of nearly 2,200 of the 20,000+ Ukrainian children Russia has abducted. Findings of this magnitude demand stronger consequences, not sanctions relief.
"The timing makes the stakes impossible to ignore. As the United States moves to ease sanctions on Russian oil stranded abroad, the very entities implicated in these operations stand to benefit financially. That risks channeling over $12 Billion back into the same state-backed machinery that fuels Dictator Vladimir Putin's war and enables atrocities like these.
"Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, our Bipartisan Ukraine Caucus has pushed for maximum pressure on Putin's regime and the networks that finance and sustain his aggression. This report makes clear why that pressure must not be weakened.
"Each of us has spoken out forcefully on the urgent need to return Ukraine's kidnapped children-an effort we are grateful First Lady Melania Trump is working on directly. But that mission also requires dismantling the infrastructure behind these crimes: the camps, networks, and state-linked entities being used to detain these children and train them to fight against their own country.
"At least one such site, known as the "Prometheus Camp," is owned by the same Russian State Oil oligarchs now positioned to benefit from sanctions relief. A Gazprom subsidiary publicly described how Ukrainian children are being trained at this camp in hand-to-hand combat, grenade throwing, and riflery to fight for their Russian abductors against Ukraine and the rest of Europe. This is not a humanitarian effort of any kind. It is the organized indoctrination and militarization of abducted children."
"These acts constitute a grave violation of international law and a profound moral atrocity. If Gazprom and Rosneft helped fund, facilitate, or operationalize them, they must face full international scrutiny and accountability. The world cannot look away while innocent children are abducted, exploited, and turned into instruments of war.
"As American leaders, we must respond with clarity, resolve, and moral seriousness. We urge the Administration to reimpose, maintain, and strengthen sanctions, denying relief to any entity implicated in the detention, indoctrination, or militarization of Ukrainian children, and work with Congress to advance bipartisan legislation that increases pressure on the Kremlin and all complicit in these atrocities.
"Sustained economic pressure remains one of the strongest tools available for America to help put an end to this bloody war against Ukraine. We must stand up for justice, uphold accountability, and ensure no more Ukrainian children are used as pawns in Putin's illegal war."
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Marcy Kaptur published this content on March 25, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on March 25, 2026 at 17:23 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]