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H.R. 10473: Justice for Ukrainian Children Act

This bill would direct the U.S. government to take a series of actions focused on Ukrainian children whom it says were unlawfully taken, transferred, or controlled by Russia during the war.

Main purpose

The bill says Congress views Russia’s reported removal of Ukrainian children as a serious violation of international law. It also states that the United States should oppose any U.N. Security Council resolution that would excuse Russia from responsibility for those actions.

Funding for documentation and recovery efforts

The bill would authorize at least $15 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2032 to support work that:

collects and preserves evidence about Ukrainian children who were abducted or transferred;
tracks, verifies, and documents those incidents;
supports a central database for this evidence;
shares relevant information with Europol, Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice, and civil society groups;
helps efforts to hold Russia accountable under international law; and
assists in finding, rescuing, and rehabilitating affected children.

The bill places conditions on the database funding. The Secretary of State would need formal agreements with the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice and civil society organizations, and the database would need security and access rules to protect the information.

The Secretary of State would also have to report to Congress within 180 days of enactment, and then every year for five years, on how the money is used, how the database is working, what accountability steps are being taken, and efforts to return children and reunite families.

Sanctions

The bill would require the President to impose sanctions on any foreign person found to have knowingly directed, helped with, or participated in the unlawful transfer, deportation, indoctrination, or militarization of Ukrainian children.

Those sanctions would include:

Blocking property in the United States or under U.S. control;
Visa denial and inadmissibility to the United States;
Revocation of existing visas or entry documents.

There are exceptions for authorized intelligence, law enforcement, and national security activities. There is also a humanitarian exception for transactions involving food, medicine, medical devices, agricultural commodities, or humanitarian assistance. The President could waive the sanctions if doing so is vital to U.S. national security, but would have to notify Congress at least 15 days in advance.

Broadcasting and information efforts

The bill would authorize at least $10 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2032 to increase Ukrainian, Balkan, Russian, and Tatar-language programming through Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America. The goal would be to expand broadcasting to people in Ukraine and nearby regions and to improve the ability to обход service disruptions or jamming. The CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media would have to provide Congress a report within 15 days on plans to increase these broadcasts.

Definitions

The bill defines “Ukrainian children” broadly to include children born in Ukraine or living in Ukraine, even if they were later forced to take Russian citizenship.

Relevant Companies

None found.

This is an AI-generated summary of the bill text. There may be mistakes.

Actions

2 actions

Date	Action
Sep. 16, 2026	Introduced in House
Sep. 16, 2026	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.

Corporate Lobbying

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