MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – Wisconsin became the first state in the country to formally condemn Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children during the Russia-Ukraine war on Thursday.
A bipartisan coalition of Wisconsin legislators introduced a joint resolution condemning Russia’s forced removal of nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children since the start of the war.
“Children should be playing soccer, going to school, being tucked in at night by their parents. Instead, they’ve been taken. Stolen,” said State Rep. Chris Sinicki, D-Milwaukee.
The resolution was presented while negotiations continue to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. On Thursday, President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The president is also expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.
A virtual reality exhibit at the Wisconsin State Capitol showed before and after images of Russia’s war on Ukraine to highlight the importance of the resolution to Ukrainians.
Maryna Oliinkyk, an attendee and Ukrainian now living in the U.S., said she misses home.
“I miss my dad, who can’t leave the country. I miss my grandma,” Oliinkyk said.
Olha Tsokalo, another Ukrainian resident now in the U.S., described the conditions her family faced during the first two years of the war.
“It was terrible because I had to hide with my family every night in shelters. There was no electricity during autumn and winter, no heating, no water sometimes,”Tsokalo said. “It was horrible.”
Wisconsin lawmakers hope the resolution will inspire the other 49 states to take similar action against Russia’s conduct.
“This is not just child abduction. This is cultural erasure, and it is a deliberate attempt to rewrite history and eliminate a nation through its youngest generation,” state Sen. Andre Jacque, R-New Franken said.
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