I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5800 

To authorize the imposition of sanctions to combat the mass abduction of 

Ukrainian children to Russia and areas of Ukraine that are temporarily 

occupied by Russian forces, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023 

Ms. JACKSON LEE (for herself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. DOGGETT, 

Mr. COHEN, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MEEKS, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 

Ms. MENG, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. HOYER, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, 

Ms. TITUS, Mr. CARSON, and Ms. LEE of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 

in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To authorize the imposition of sanctions to combat the mass 

abduction of Ukrainian children to Russia and areas 

of Ukraine that are temporarily occupied by Russian 

forces, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oleksander Ivanov Act 

5 of 2023’’ or ‘‘Oleksander’s Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) On February 24, 2022, Russia, under the 

4 leadership of Vladimir Putin, launched a premedi5 tated war against Ukraine in an attack on democ6 racy and a grave violation of international law, glob7 al peace, and security. 

8 (2) According to the United Nations High Com9 missioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of September 

10 19, 2023, there were more than 5.8 million Ukrain11 ian refugees recorded in Europe and more than 

12 369,000 Ukrainian refugees recorded globally. 

13 (3) The unjust and brutal war has put millions 

14 of Ukrainian women and children at risk of traf15 ficking, millions of children have been deprived of 

16 their education and are experiencing trauma, and 

17 according to a report by Yale University, more than 

18 6,000 children are in Russians custody. 

19 (4) According to a report by Yale University 

20 Humanitarian Research Lab (Yale HRL), at least 

21 6,000 children from Ukraine ages four months to 17 

22 years have been held at camps and other facilities 

23 within Russia-occupied Crimea and mainland Russia 

24 since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. 

25 (5) There are at least 43 camps and facilities 

26 where the Russian government has interned UkrainVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5800.IH H5800

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1 ian children. Out of the various camps, 12 are situ2 ated near the Black Sea, 7 are found within Russian 

3 occupied Crimea, and 10 are grouped around the 

4 areas of Moscow, Kazan, and Yekaterinburg. In ad5 dition, 11 of these camps are positioned at distances 

6 exceeding 500 miles from Ukraine’s border with 

7 Russia, with two camps located in Siberia and one 

8 in the Far East of Russia. 

9 (6) Among the camps identified by Yale Univer10 sity Humanitarian Research Lab, at least 32 (78 

11 percent) of the camps seem to be engaged in orga12 nized re-education initiatives that subject Ukrainian 

13 children to Russia-focused educational, cultural, pa14 triotic, and/or military teachings. 

15 (7) Yale University Humanitarian Research 

16 Lab identified two camps that housed children who 

17 were alleged to be orphans. Those children were 

18 later placed into Russian foster families. Specifically, 

19 20 children from these camps were placed into fami20 lies in Moscow and were enrolled in local schools in 

21 Moscow. 

22 (8) Ukrainian children have had their names 

23 and birthdates changed when adopted, making them 

24 difficult to trace. 


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1 (9) This scheme is centrally coordinated by the 

2 Russian government and is comprised of actors from 

3 every level of government. According to the report by 

4 Yale HRL, there are several dozen federal, regional, 

5 and local officials that are engaged in politically jus6 tifying the program and at least 12 of these individ7 uals are not on U.S. and/or international sanction 

8 lists. 

9 (10) In May 2022, President Putin signed a de10 cree simplifying the procedure of obtaining Russian 

11 citizenship for purported Ukrainian orphans and 

12 children without parental care, thereby expediting 

13 the process of illegal adoption of deported Ukrainian 

14 children by Russian families. 

15 (11) Forcibly transferring children of one group 

16 to another group is a violation of Article II(e) of the 

17 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of 

18 the Crime of Genocide 1948 and the Geneva Con19 vention IV, including articles 24, 25, 50, 78, and 82. 

20 (12) The International Criminal Court has in21 dicted Russian President Vladimir Putin and Rus22 sian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria 

23 Lvova-Belova for the war crime of unlawful deporta24 tion of population (children) and that of unlawful 

25 transfer of population (children) from occupied areas 


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1 of Ukraine to the Russian Federation under articles 

2 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute. 

3 (13) On August 24, 2023, the Biden Adminis4 tration imposed financial blocking sanctions and 

5 pursuing visa restrictions pursuant to section 

6 1(a)(iii)(A) of E.O. 14024 on 12 individuals and a 

7 Russian government-owned entity that ‘‘played a 

8 role in forcibly deporting Ukrainian children from 

9 Russia-occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia, and/or 

10 transferring Ukrainian children within Russia-occu11 pied areas of Ukraine.’’. 

12 (14) As reported by the Ukrainian Ministry of 

13 Education, over 400 schools have been destroyed 

14 and an additional 2,600 schools are damaged across 

15 Ukraine. According to the United Nations Childrens 

16 Fund (UNICEF), the education of Ukrainian chil17 dren is at risk, as 5.3 million children currently face 

18 barriers preventing their access to education, with 

19 3.6 million children directly impacted by school clo20 sures. 

21 (15) Reports by the United Nations Children’s 

22 Fund also indicate that the war is having a dev23 astating impact on the mental health and well-being 

24 of Ukrainian children. Specifically, around 1.5 mil25 lion children are at risk of depression, anxiety, postVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5800.IH H5800

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1 traumatic stress disorder and other mental health 

2 issues with potential long-term effects and implica3 tions. 

4 (16) The war has also caused Ukrainian women 

5 and children to become more vulnerable to being 

6 trafficked. The United Nations High Commissioner 

7 for Refugees reports that 90 percent of the 5.8 mil8 lion refugees who have fled Ukraine for Europe are 

9 women and children. Reports have stated that traf10 fickers patrol border entry points, train stations, and 

11 refugee centers with the purpose of attracting and 

12 exploiting refugees. Specifically, traffickers lure in 

13 refugees with promises of accommodation, transpor14 tation, and employment, sometimes disguising them15 selves as volunteers providing humanitarian assist16 ance. 

17 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that the United States 

19 should— 

20 (1) support programs specifically for trauma 

21 treatment and healing, rehabilitation and where nec22 essary prostheses, for Ukrainian children affected by 

23 the war against Ukraine launched by Russia includ24 ing nationwide educational programs of psycho25 logical support to address trauma and stress for all 


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1 Ukrainian children, integrated into school cur2 riculum and offered through clinical and social serv3 ices; 

4 (2) support programs to rebuild the education 

5 system in Ukraine and education for Ukrainian child 

6 refugees, in cooperation with other countries, inter7 national organizations, and civil society; 

8 (3) support the development of a unified and 

9 consolidated searchable registry of missing Ukrain10 ian children in order to facilitate identification of 

11 children and family reunification, which should en12 sure strict data protection and availability in the 

13 Ukrainian, Russian, and English languages; 

14 (4) ensure the public is made aware of the ex15 istence of, and how to use, such registry; 

16 (5) support the development of a unified central 

17 emergency call center hub linked to law enforcement 

18 in Ukraine and in other countries to enable report19 ing on and interventions on behalf of missing 

20 Ukrainian children and suspected cases of human 

21 trafficking and sexual exploitation, including online, 

22 of Ukrainian children; 

23 (6) support the development of an international 

24 mechanism to facilitate vetting of volunteers and 

25 other non-governmental front-line responders workVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5800.IH H5800

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1 ing with refugees or with victims of other major cri2 ses or natural disasters by law enforcement or other 

3 governmental authorities; 

4 (7) support efforts (including the efforts de5 scribed in paragraph (6)) to only allow appropriately 

6 vetted and credentialed individuals access to refu7 gees; 

8 (8) continue to support efforts by the Govern9 ment of Ukraine to increase collaboration with Euro10 pean counterparts on anti-trafficking investigations 

11 and increased awareness efforts; 

12 (9) support the development of robust child 

13 protective mechanisms for vulnerable children, in14 cluding Ukrainian children, in Ukraine and in coun15 tries that have received Ukrainian refugees, that in16 clude social assistance and protection to help prevent 

17 human trafficking and sexual abuse of Ukrainian 

18 children; and 

19 (10) work with Ukrainian authorities to ensure 

20 that law enforcement officials stationed at major 

21 border crossing points in Ukraine during a refugee 

22 crisis are appropriately trained to prevent human 

23 trafficking and support other measures to monitor 

24 for indications of human trafficking targeting refu25 gees in areas surrounding border crossings. 


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1 SEC. 4. SANCTIONS AUTHORITY. 

2 (a) AUTHORITY.—The President may impose the 

3 sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to any 

4 foreign person that the President, or Secretary of the 

5 Treasury (in consultation with the Secretary of State), de6 termines is responsible for engaging in, or facilitating, any 

7 of the following: 

8 (1) The forced displacement, including mass ab9 duction of Ukrainian children to Russia or Russian10 controlled areas of Ukraine. 

11 (2) The illegal forced assimilation, adoption, or 

12 placement in a foster home of Ukrainian children. 

13 (3) Involvement of any form in the trafficking 

14 of Ukrainians in Ukraine or Ukrainian refugees. 

15 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de16 scribed in this subsection are the following: 

17 (1) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.—The blocking, in 

18 accordance with the International Emergency Eco19 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), of all 

20 transactions in all property and interests in property 

21 of a foreign person described in subsection (a) if 

22 such property and interests in property are in the 

23 United States, come within the United States, or are 

24 or come within the possession or control of a United 

25 States person. 


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1 (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, OR

2 PAROLE.— 

3 (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—A 

4 foreign person described in subsection (a) may 

5 be— 

6 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 

7 (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 

8 documentation to enter the United States; 

9 and 

10 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 

11 or paroled into the United States or to re12 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra13 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

14 seq.). 

15 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—A foreign person 

17 described in subsection (a) may be subject 

18 to revocation of any visa or other entry 

19 documentation regardless of when the visa 

20 or other entry documentation is or was 

21 issued. 

22 (ii) IMMEDIATE EFFECT.—A revoca23 tion under clause (i) shall— 

24 (I) take effect immediately; and 


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1 (II) automatically cancel any 

2 other valid visa or entry documenta3 tion that is in the possession of the 

4 foreign person. 

5 (c) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTERNATIONAL

6 OBLIGATIONS.—Sanctions under this section shall not 

7 apply with respect to a foreign person if admitting or pa8 roling the person into the United States is necessary to 

9 permit the United States to comply with the Agreement 

10 regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed 

11 at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 

12 November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the 

13 United States, or other applicable international obliga14 tions. 

15 (d) SUNSET.—The authority to impose sanctions 

16 under this section shall terminate on the date that is 6 

17 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

19 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact20 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to 

21 the appropriate congressional committees and the Com22 mission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (com23 monly referred to as the ‘‘U.S. Helsinki Commission’’) a 

24 report on United States efforts for the reintegration of 

25 Ukrainian children affected by the war against Ukraine 


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1 launched by Russia, including a description of any such 

2 efforts to support— 

3 (1) the rebuilding and redevelopment of the 

4 Ukrainian education system; and 

5 (2) the implementation of mental health pro6 grams to address trauma and family separations 

7 among such Ukrainian children. 

8 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT11 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com12 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

13 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

14 Foreign Relations of the Senate. 

15 (2) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi16 vidual under the age of 18. 

17 (3) UKRAINIAN CHILD.—The term ‘‘Ukrainian 

18 child’’ means a child born in Ukraine or an inhab19 itant of Ukraine, regardless of whether the child is 

20 subsequently trafficked or forced to assume Russian 

21 citizenship. 

Æ 


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