The State Department quelled concerns over what happened to the data collected by an initiative tracking abducted Ukrainian children Monday, telling reporters during an agency briefing that the data was "secure." (GETTY IMAGES/FOX)
"The data exists … we know it is secure," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters during a Monday briefing. "Just because something has changed – as this has – [doesn't mean] that it disappears, or stops, or becomes something that we can't use."
Bruce refused to comment any further about the federal government's continued role, or lack thereof, with regard to protecting the data.
"I would just remind you that there is a variety of dynamics that are occurring when it comes to the world knowing about those missing children," she said to reporters.
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People, holding banners and Ukrainian flags, gather to demonstrate for the extradition of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia in front of the United Nations office in Brussels. (Photo by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The State Department declined to provide any comment on this story, and referred all questions about the data to MITRE. In response to Fox News Digital's questions about the data's location, a MITRE spokesperson said that the research into Ukrainian children "is currently maintained by a former partner on [the Conflict Observatory] contract." However, the spokesperson would not indicate which specific partner it was referring to, as there are several.
The spokesperson added that, as a result of the Trump administration's move to cut funding to the Yale program, the research being done there to track abducted Ukrainian children has been halted.
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"While we are not in a position to comment on the State Department’s decision, we do recognize the importance of HRL’s work and its contributions to international efforts to protect vulnerable populations, including Ukrainian children," a Yale University spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "Yale remains supportive of its researchers pursuing work that sheds light on urgent global issues."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/state-dept-says-data-ukrainian-orphans-secure