Title 22Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-83

§8926a Supporting the Identification and Recovery of Abducted Ukrainian Children

Title 22 › Chapter 96A— UKRAINE FREEDOM SUPPORT › § 8926a

Last updated Apr 18, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates U.S. programs to help find and return Ukrainian children taken by the Russian Federation, help those children recover and rejoin their families, and help hold the people who took them accountable. The Departments of State and Justice may give Ukraine law enforcement and intelligence help, training, equipment, and advice. That help can include training on biometric ID tools, help collecting and analyzing open-source information, secure communications, and managing databases. They may work with nongovernmental groups and coordinate through the National Security Council and other U.S. agencies. The Secretary of State can fund medical and psychological care, family reunification, and reintegration services like case management, legal aid, and school placement. Within 30 days after deciding to provide any help, the Secretary of State must brief the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the cost, type, and technology used. By 60 days after December 18, 2025, the Secretary of State must report planned or current foreign assistance programs and, with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, must report to the listed Senate and House committees about U.S. support for investigations and prosecutions and about differences and alignment efforts in U.S., U.K., and EU sanctions related to these abductions. The Department of State may also support the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group, and the Department of Justice may provide prosecutorial assistance through its overseas office led by the Resident Legal Adviser in Kyiv.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §8926a

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)This section may be cited as the “Abducted Ukrainian Children Recovery and Accountability Act”.
(b)Congress finds the following:
(1)According to a White House press release, dated March 25, 2025, “The United States and Ukraine agreed that the United States remains committed to helping achieve the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children.”.
(2)To implement the commitment referred to in paragraph (1), the United States Government requires an organized and resourced policy approach to assist Ukraine with—
(A)investigations of Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children;
(B)the rehabilitation and reintegration of children returned to Ukraine; and
(C)justice and accountability for perpetrators of the abductions.
(c)(1)The Department of Justice and the Department of State are authorized—
(A)to provide law enforcement and intelligence technical assistance, training, capacity building, and advisory support to the Government of Ukraine in support of the commitment described in subsection (b)(1); and
(B)to advance the objectives described in subsection (b)(2).
(2)The law enforcement and intelligence technical assistance authorized under paragraph (1)(A) may include—
(A)training regarding the utilization of biometric identification technologies in abduction and trafficking in persons investigations;
(B)assistance with respect to collecting and analyzing open source intelligence information;
(C)assistance in the development and use of secure communications technologies; and
(D)assistance with respect to managing and securing relevant databases.
(3)Not later than 30 days after the determination to provide assistance in any category identified in this subsection, the Secretary of State shall brief the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives on—
(A)the amount of assistance determined to be obligated;
(B)the type of assistance to be utilized; and
(C)any information on the technology operationalized to support the means identified in this subsection.
(d)(1)The Department of Justice and the Department of State may coordinate with nongovernmental organizations to carry out the assistance authorized under subsection (c).
(2)The National Security Council may coordinate with appropriate representatives from the Department of Justice, the Department of State, the intelligence community (as defined in section 3003 of title 50), and other Federal agencies, as needed, to carry out the assistance authorized under subsection (c).
(e)(1)The Secretary of State is authorized to provide support to the Government of Ukraine and nongovernmental organizations and local civil society groups in Ukraine for the purpose of providing Ukrainian children (including teenagers) who have been abducted, forcibly transferred, or held against their will by the Russian Federation with—
(A)medical and psychological rehabilitation services;
(B)family reunification and support services; and
(C)services in support of the reintegration of such children into Ukrainian society, including case management, legal aid, and educational screening and placement.
(2)Not later than 60 days after December 18, 2025, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that describes all current or planned foreign assistance programs that will provide the assistance authorized under paragraph (1).
(f)The Department of State is authorized to support the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group for Ukraine by providing technical assistance, capacity building, and advisory support to the Government of Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General, and other relevant components of the Government of Ukraine, for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting cases involving abducted children, and other atrocity crimes.
(g)The Department of Justice is authorized to provide technical assistance, capacity building, and advisory support to the Government of Ukraine through its Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training, which shall be coordinated by the Resident Legal Adviser at the United States Embassy in Kyiv, for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting cases involving abducted children, and other atrocity crimes.
(h)Not later than 60 days after December 18, 2025—
(1)the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Attorney General, shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives that describes current and planned United States Government support for the Government of Ukraine’s work to investigate and prosecute atrocity crimes; and
(2)the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives that outlines—
(A)any discrepancies between the sanctions regimes of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union with respect to those responsible for the abduction of Ukrainian children; and
(B)efforts made by the United States Government to better align such sanction regimes.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, and not as part of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014, which comprises this chapter.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 8926a

Title 22Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Apr 18, 2026

Release point: 119-83