Aiding the abduction of Ukrainian children must come with consequences

Excerpt

“They do not like the light of day. They’re like vampires,” former U.S. War Crimes Ambassador David Crane said about private corporations and their leaders that facilitate war crimes.  

At a hearing of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the U.S. Capitol last month, witnesses and members of Congress considered that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to face the consequences from international legal bodies for crimes against humanity, including Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children. 

But, as Crane and other witnesses pointed out, it’s time for lower-level government officials and executives at Russian companies that aid and abet child abductions to face consequences from the United States and other opposing countries.  

Dmitriy Shapiro is a research analyst and editor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.