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 fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 
in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subse-
quently 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oleksander Ivanov Act 
of 2023’’ or ‘‘Oleksander’s Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) On February 24, 2022, Russia, under the 
leadership of Vladimir Putin, launched a premedi-
tated war against Ukraine in an attack on democ-
racy and a grave violation of international law, glob-
al peace, and security. 
(2) According to the United Nations High Com-
missioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of September 
19, 2023, there were more than 5.8 million Ukrain-
ian refugees recorded in Europe and more than 
369,000 Ukrainian refugees recorded globally. 
(3) The unjust and brutal war has put millions 
of Ukrainian women and children at risk of traf-
ficking, millions of children have been deprived of 
their education and are experiencing trauma, and 
according to a report by Yale University, more than 
6,000 children are in Russians custody. 
(4) According to a report by Yale University 
Humanitarian Research Lab (Yale HRL), at least 
6,000 children from Ukraine ages four months to 17 
years have been held at camps and other facilities 
within Russia-occupied Crimea and mainland Russia 
since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. 
(5) There are at least 43 camps and facilities 
where the Russian government has interned Ukrain-
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ian children. Out of the various camps, 12 are situ-
ated near the Black Sea, 7 are found within Russian 
occupied Crimea, and 10 are grouped around the 
areas of Moscow, Kazan, and Yekaterinburg. In ad-
dition, 11 of these camps are positioned at distances 
exceeding 500 miles from Ukraine’s border with 
Russia, with two camps located in Siberia and one 
in the Far East of Russia. 
(6) Among the camps identified by Yale Univer-
sity Humanitarian Research Lab, at least 32 (78 
percent) of the camps seem to be engaged in orga-
nized re-education initiatives that subject Ukrainian 
children to Russia-focused educational, cultural, pa-
triotic, and/or military teachings. 
(7) Yale University Humanitarian Research 
Lab identified two camps that housed children who 
were alleged to be orphans. Those children were 
later placed into Russian foster families. Specifically, 
20 children from these camps were placed into fami-
lies in Moscow and were enrolled in local schools in 
Moscow. 
(8) Ukrainian children have had their names 
and birthdates changed when adopted, making them 
difficult to trace. 
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(9) This scheme is centrally coordinated by the 
Russian government and is comprised of actors from 
every level of government. According to the report by 
Yale HRL, there are several dozen federal, regional, 
and local officials that are engaged in politically jus-
tifying the program and at least 12 of these individ-
uals are not on U.S. and/or international sanction 
lists. 
(10) In May 2022, President Putin signed a de-
cree simplifying the procedure of obtaining Russian 
citizenship for purported Ukrainian orphans and 
children without parental care, thereby expediting 
the process of illegal adoption of deported Ukrainian 
children by Russian families. 
(11) Forcibly transferring children of one group 
to another group is a violation of Article II(e) of the 
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of 
the Crime of Genocide 1948 and the Geneva Con-
vention IV, including articles 24, 25, 50, 78, and 82. 
(12) The International Criminal Court has in-
dicted Russian President Vladimir Putin and Rus-
sian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria 
Lvova-Belova for the war crime of unlawful deporta-
tion of population (children) and that of unlawful 
transfer of population (children) from occupied areas 
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of Ukraine to the Russian Federation under articles 
8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute. 
(13) On August 24, 2023, the Biden Adminis-
tration imposed financial blocking sanctions and 
pursuing visa restrictions pursuant to section 
1(a)(iii)(A) of E.O. 14024 on 12 individuals and a 
Russian government-owned entity that ‘‘played a 
role in forcibly deporting Ukrainian children from 
Russia-occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia, and/or 
transferring Ukrainian children within Russia-occu-
pied areas of Ukraine.’’. 
(14) As reported by the Ukrainian Ministry of 
Education, over 400 schools have been destroyed 
and an additional 2,600 schools are damaged across 
Ukraine. According to the United Nations Childrens 
Fund (UNICEF), the education of Ukrainian chil-
dren is at risk, as 5.3 million children currently face 
barriers preventing their access to education, with 
3.6 million children directly impacted by school clo-
sures. 
(15) Reports by the United Nations Children’s 
Fund also indicate that the war is having a dev-
astating impact on the mental health and well-being 
of Ukrainian children. Specifically, around 1.5 mil-
lion children are at risk of depression, anxiety, post- 
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traumatic stress disorder and other mental health 
issues with potential long-term effects and implica-
tions. 
(16) The war has also caused Ukrainian women 
and children to become more vulnerable to being 
trafficked. The United Nations High Commissioner 
for Refugees reports that 90 percent of the 5.8 mil-
lion refugees who have fled Ukraine for Europe are 
women and children. Reports have stated that traf-
fickers patrol border entry points, train stations, and 
refugee centers with the purpose of attracting and 
exploiting refugees. Specifically, traffickers lure in 
refugees with promises of accommodation, transpor-
tation, and employment, sometimes disguising them-
selves as volunteers providing humanitarian assist-
ance. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that the United States 
should— 
(1) support programs specifically for trauma 
treatment and healing, rehabilitation and where nec-
essary prostheses, for Ukrainian children affected by 
the war against Ukraine launched by Russia includ-
ing nationwide educational programs of psycho-
logical support to address trauma and stress for all 
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Ukrainian children, integrated into school cur-
riculum and offered through clinical and social serv-
ices; 
(2) support programs to rebuild the education 
system in Ukraine and education for Ukrainian child 
refugees, in cooperation with other countries, inter-
national organizations, and civil society; 
(3) support the development of a unified and 
consolidated searchable registry of missing Ukrain-
ian children in order to facilitate identification of 
children and family reunification, which should en-
sure strict data protection and availability in the 
Ukrainian, Russian, and English languages; 
(4) ensure the public is made aware of the ex-
istence of, and how to use, such registry; 
(5) support the development of a unified central 
emergency call center hub linked to law enforcement 
in Ukraine and in other countries to enable report-
ing on and interventions on behalf of missing 
Ukrainian children and suspected cases of human 
trafficking and sexual exploitation, including online, 
of Ukrainian children; 
(6) support the development of an international 
mechanism to facilitate vetting of volunteers and 
other non-governmental front-line responders work-
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ing with refugees or with victims of other major cri-
ses or natural disasters by law enforcement or other 
governmental authorities; 
(7) support efforts (including the efforts de-
scribed in paragraph (6)) to only allow appropriately 
vetted and credentialed individuals access to refu-
gees; 
(8) continue to support efforts by the Govern-
ment of Ukraine to increase collaboration with Euro-
pean counterparts on anti-trafficking investigations 
and increased awareness efforts; 
(9) support the development of robust child 
protective mechanisms for vulnerable children, in-
cluding Ukrainian children, in Ukraine and in coun-
tries that have received Ukrainian refugees, that in-
clude social assistance and protection to help prevent 
human trafficking and sexual abuse of Ukrainian 
children; and 
(10) work with Ukrainian authorities to ensure 
that law enforcement officials stationed at major 
border crossing points in Ukraine during a refugee 
crisis are appropriately trained to prevent human 
trafficking and support other measures to monitor 
for indications of human trafficking targeting refu-
gees in areas surrounding border crossings. 
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SEC. 4. SANCTIONS AUTHORITY. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—The President may impose the 
sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to any 
foreign person that the President, or Secretary of the 
Treasury (in consultation with the Secretary of State), de-
termines is responsible for engaging in, or facilitating, any 
of the following: 
(1) The forced displacement, including mass ab-
duction of Ukrainian children to Russia or Russian- 
controlled areas of Ukraine. 
(2) The illegal forced assimilation, adoption, or 
placement in a foster home of Ukrainian children. 
(3) Involvement of any form in the trafficking 
of Ukrainians in Ukraine or Ukrainian refugees. 
(b) SANCTIONS
DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de-
scribed in this subsection are the following: 
(1) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.—The blocking, in 
accordance with the International Emergency Eco-
nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), of all 
transactions in all property and interests in property 
of a foreign person described in subsection (a) if 
such property and interests in property are in the 
United States, come within the United States, or are 
or come within the possession or control of a United 
States person. 
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(2) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, OR 
PAROLE.— 
(A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR
PAROLE.—A 
foreign person described in subsection (a) may 
be— 
(i) inadmissible to the United States; 
(ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 
documentation to enter the United States; 
and 
(iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 
or paroled into the United States or to re-
ceive any other benefit under the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 
seq.). 
(B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 
(i) IN
GENERAL.—A foreign person 
described in subsection (a) may be subject 
to revocation of any visa or other entry 
documentation regardless of when the visa 
or other entry documentation is or was 
issued. 
(ii) IMMEDIATE
EFFECT.—A revoca-
tion under clause (i) shall— 
(I) take effect immediately; and 
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(II) automatically cancel any 
other valid visa or entry documenta-
tion that is in the possession of the 
foreign person. 
(c) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTERNATIONAL 
OBLIGATIONS.—Sanctions under this section shall not 
apply with respect to a foreign person if admitting or pa-
roling the person into the United States is necessary to 
permit the United States to comply with the Agreement 
regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed 
at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 
November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the 
United States, or other applicable international obliga-
tions. 
(d) SUNSET.—The authority to impose sanctions 
under this section shall terminate on the date that is 6 
years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 5. REPORT. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees and the Com-
mission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (com-
monly referred to as the ‘‘U.S. Helsinki Commission’’) a 
report on United States efforts for the reintegration of 
Ukrainian children affected by the war against Ukraine 
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launched by Russia, including a description of any such 
efforts to support— 
(1) the rebuilding and redevelopment of the 
Ukrainian education system; and 
(2) the implementation of mental health pro-
grams to address trauma and family separations 
among such Ukrainian children. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Foreign Relations of the Senate. 
(2) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi-
vidual under the age of 18. 
(3) UKRAINIAN CHILD.—The term ‘‘Ukrainian 
child’’ means a child born in Ukraine or an inhab-
itant of Ukraine, regardless of whether the child is 
subsequently trafficked or forced to assume Russian 
citizenship. 
Æ 
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