Reuters: A Mother’s Desperate Search for Her Son, Deported by Russia

Reuters travelled to Kherson with Emile Foundation to meet with Hanna, and hear the story of her son Anton, abducted by Russia.

Reuters has published a must-read investigation by Anthony Deutsch that highlights one of the most urgent humanitarian crises of our time: the thousands of Ukrainian children taken by Russia and separated from their families.

The Emile Foundation has been helping families struggling through these horrors.

Reuters examines how recent U.S. government funding cuts are affecting efforts to locate missing children and preserve evidence for future accountability.

It also highlights the indispensable work of private humanitarian organizations and governments, including Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab led by Nathaniel Raymond.

The YSPH Humanitarian Research Lab has been one of Emile’s key partners. Its investigations and satellite imagery have generated critical leads in the search for missing children.

It is also among the organizations whose funding has been cut or diminished, with current funding set to end in August.

“Without it, we are talking about many years of setbacks,” our co-founder Mariam Lambert told Reuters.

As this story makes clear, these programs are not simply line items in a budget. Their work can be the difference between a family finding answers and a child remaining lost.

In the wake of these U.S. funding cuts, the European Union’s recent commitments to advancing the return of Ukrainian children are more important than ever. They offer hope that momentum can be restored.

But this challenge is not only about funding. It is about sustained focus, political will, and a continued commitment to finding these children and bringing them home.

Reuters also highlights the story of Hanna, whose son Anton was taken by Russian forces from a Ukrainian care institution. Emile has worked alongside her for years in the effort to locate him and bring him home.

Her story is a reminder of what’s at stake: a mother still waiting to hold her child.
The world should be investing more in efforts to find these children and secure accountability for what happened to them—not less.