H.R. 9450, Countering Russian Trafficking Act

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Bottom Line Up Front

H.R. 9450, the Countering Russian Trafficking Act, imposes serious sanctions on those responsible for Russia’s human trafficking and re-education of Ukrainian children. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has kidnapped over 20,000 Ukrainian children, seeking to indoctrinate them into Russian state ideology in a systematic campaign against Ukrainian families and culture. This bill would require the President to impose sanctions on the perpetrators, facilitators, and financial beneficiaries of Russia’s campaign against Ukrainian children while providing for Congress to conduct oversight, as well.

Bill Information

Click here to read the full legislative text and view the list of cosponsors.

FDD Action Expert Analysis

“FDD Action applauds the bipartisan congressional focus on holding Russia accountable for its abduction of Ukrainian children. Lawmakers from both parties recognize that we must address Russia’s abduction of more than 20,000 Ukrainian children. These kidnappings are a clear violation of international humanitarian law and constitute one of the worst examples of large-scale human trafficking seen to this day. FDD Action is proud to endorse this legislation and urges Members of Congress to cosponsor it and for the House to pass the legislation.”

Daniel Vaynshteyn

Associate Director for Government Relations, FDD Action

Why It Matters

• Mass abduction, mass indoctrination: Ukrainian authorities have documented 20,610 children forcibly transferred or deported. An OSCE Moscow Mechanism investigation found that as many as 1.6 million Ukrainian children in occupied territories are subject to Russian state indoctrination and militarization.
• Named a crime against humanity: The UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has documented murder, rape, torture, and unlawful confinement of Ukrainian children. In 2023, the United States determined that Russia’s removal of children is a crime against humanity. The State Department’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons report states that Russia has forcibly transferred as many as 1.6 million Ukrainians, leaving them highly vulnerable to trafficking.
• Enablers sustain the campaign: The Russian Orthodox Church’s charity arm has coordinated with Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations on placement records and sheltered displaced children at church-run facilities. Moscow has also used Russian adoption databases to place Ukrainian children with Russian families in order to “Russify” them.
• Mandates real sanctions: The bill would mandate that the President impose sanctions on covered persons within 180 days of enactment, in accordance with Executive Order 13581 and Section 111 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. It broadly defines covered persons to include Russian federal ministries and regional administrations, “rehabilitation” and “patriotic education” camps, Russian Orthodox Church entities and affiliated charities, private adoption and foster networks operating in occupied Ukraine, and any individual who knowingly benefits from, materially supports, or acts on behalf of these entities.
• Builds in congressional oversight: The President must submit an interim unclassified list of covered persons to Congress within 120 days, with the option of a classified annex. Committee leadership can request a presidential determination on specific actors, and the bill preserves the President’s existing authorities to impose sanctions under other law.

What They’re Saying

• → Cosponsor the Countering Russian Trafficking Act (FDD Action | Action Alert)
• → Melania Trump Got It Right: Russia Must Return Ukraine’s Stolen Children (FDD’s Michele Kernitsky | Washington Examiner)