Pennsylvania HR 588: A Resolution condemning the actions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, including the illegal abduction and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 3788
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 588
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY CERRATO, HANBIDGE, PROBST, PROKOPIAK, SANCHEZ,
McANDREW, PIELLI, HOWARD, BRENNAN, GIRAL, GALLAGHER, MALAGARI
AND GILLEN, JULY 21, 2026
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS AND
OPERATIONS, JULY 22, 2026
A RESOLUTION
Condemning the actions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine,
including the illegal abduction and forcible transfer of
Ukrainian children to Russia.
WHEREAS, On January 12, 1951, the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, commonly
known as the "Genocide Convention," of which the Russian
Federation is a party, came into effect; and
WHEREAS, On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation
launched an unprovoked, large-scale invasion of Ukraine; and
WHEREAS, On June 16, 2022, Russian authorities announced that
children born in occupied Ukrainian territories after the
invasion would be deemed Russian citizens; and
WHEREAS, The government of the Russian Federation changed its
adoption laws since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022
for the purpose of forcibly adopting children abducted from
Ukraine in order to raise the children as Russian citizens and
erase their Ukrainian identity; and
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WHEREAS, Forcibly transferring children of one group to
another group is a violation of Article II(e) of the Genocide
Convention; and
WHEREAS, On July 11, 2022, United Nations Secretary-General
António Guterres ordered an investigation into the deaths and
injuries of Ukrainian children; and
WHEREAS, On February 14, 2023, a report by the Yale School of
Public Health's Humanitarian Research Lab identified at least
210 facilities in Russia-occupied Crimea and Russia involved in
the systematic academic, cultural, patriotic and military re-
education of Ukrainian children; and
WHEREAS, Although estimates vary regarding the total number
of Ukrainian children forcibly taken by the Russian Federation,
Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria
Lvova-Belova stated that approximately 700,000 Ukrainian
children have been brought to Russia since the start of the
full-scale invasion; and
WHEREAS, As of April 16, 2025, Ukraine and its partners have
managed to return 2,117 abducted Ukrainian children from the
Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus and the occupied
Ukrainian territory; and
WHEREAS, Hundreds of thousands of children still reside in
the occupied territories of Ukraine, where they face attempts at
Russification by occupation authorities; and
WHEREAS, The abduction and forcible transfer of Ukrainian
children by the Russian Federation and the facilitation of
illegal adoptions is contrary to Russia's obligations under the
Genocide Convention and amounts to genocide; and
WHEREAS, The Russian Federation is attempting to wipe out a
generation of Ukrainian children, thereby crippling Ukraine's
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ability to nurture the next generation of Ukrainian citizens and
leaders and rebuild their country after Russia's unprovoked war,
with the purpose of demolishing Ukraine's unique language,
culture, history and identity; and
WHEREAS, The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation
has significantly increased the risks of children being exposed
to human trafficking and exploitation, child labor, gender-based
violence, hunger, injury, trauma, deprivation of education and
shelter and death; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania condemn the actions of the Russian
Federation in Ukraine, including the illegal abduction and
forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to
the President of the United States, Vice President of the United
States, United States Secretary of State and each member of
Congress from Pennsylvania.
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