US State Department denies deletion of data on Russia’s child abductions in Ukraine

Claims that data documenting Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia had been erased were firmly debunked by State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce at a briefing. 

Addressing reporters, Bruce labeled the allegations "a conspiracy theory, or fear, or whatever it was." 

She clarified, "So that is false. The data exists. It was not in the State Department’s control. It was the people running that framework, but we know who is running the data and the website, and we know fully that the data exists and it’s not been deleted and it’s not missing."

The rebuttal follows reports from Western media suggesting the Trump administration halted a U.S.-funded initiative tracking alleged Russian war crimes, including a confidential database on the mass abduction of Ukrainian children.

The Washington Post had speculated that even if the database was merely relocated, not erased, it could compromise investigations, rendering digital evidence inadmissible in court due to chain-of-custody issues.

Back on March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Russia’s children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for their roles in child abductions from Ukraine.

Russia denounced the warrants as "illegal," opening cases against ICC prosecutor Karim Khan and three judges.

On February 6, Trump imposed sanctions on the ICC, arguing it had "abused its power" over U.S. personnel and allies like Israel. 

The ICC condemned the U.S. measures, escalating tensions over international justice efforts.