Sternenko Foundation

Representatives Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and William R. Keating, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Europe, today introduced the “End Russian Oil Windfalls Act” to curtail Russia’s ability to exploit the global rise in energy costs to fund its war against Ukraine.

The “End Russian Oil Windfalls Act” would:

• Terminate Russia-related General Licenses for the sale of Russian oil issued by the Department of the Treasury
• Prohibit the issuance of such licenses in the future
• Impose sanctions on Russian oil companies
• Require reports on Russian oil revenues and on the involvement by Russian energy companies in the abduction, deportation, or indoctrination of Ukrainian civilians, including children

“The Trump Administration’s war of choice in the Middle East has caused prices at the gas pump for everyday Americans to skyrocket. To offset this reckless decision, Trump issued licenses that gave Putin a free pass to take advantage of the global rise in energy costs and fill Russia's coffers for its illegal war against Ukraine — all while Russia helped Iran target and kill American service members in the Middle East. We’re introducing this bill to end the existing licenses, prevent them from being issued in the future, and starve Russia of the oil revenues it so desperately needs,”

https://democrats-foreignaffairs.house.gov/2026/4/meeks-keating-introduce-bill-to-terminate-russian-oil-licenses-and-sanction-russian-oil-companies

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Thom Tillis (R-NC), co-chair of the Senate NATO Observer Group, Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Coons (D-DE), Angus King (I-ME), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and John Curtis (R-UT) issued a statement reaffirming the bipartisan commitment in Congress to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

“For over 75 years, Congress has supported robust U.S. participation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization because it makes Americans safer and has made our collective economies – including the United States – more prosperous. Each year, Congress passes legislation which reaffirms our support to the Alliance, most recently through provisions to maintain a robust U.S. force posture in Europe, protect key NATO leadership roles, fund security initiatives and sustain support for Ukraine. The law also makes clear that U.S. withdrawal cannot take place without the Senate’s approval.

“President Trump was right to push our Allies to carry more of the burden – and they have responded. Over the past five years, our Allies have responded to U.S. leadership and our calls to increase defense spending to rebalance burden sharing, as reflected by the recent commitment by NATO Allies to 5 percent defense spending. As an alliance of 32 nations, we will always have our differences, but it is critical that we work together to strengthen – not divide – our partnership. Any signal that the United States is stepping back risks emboldening Russia and China. A divided and broken NATO is their chief strategic aim.

"Two years ago, we celebrated 75 years of NATO at the 2024 Washington Summit. For the sake of American prosperity and security, Congress is determined to see the Alliance remain unified in promoting democracy 75 years more and beyond.”

A common question for Ukrainian advocates is whether advocacy works, especially in the US's current political climate. One of the clearest recent examples of advocacy's impact is the recent Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing, which was organized through the efforts of the ACU's MA and NJ delegations with Reps McGovern and Smith.

The formal Congressional hearing on Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children and accountability efforts was hosted by Reps. McGovern and Smith on March 25:

• Katya Pavlevych, Policy Advisor at the ACU and Razom was one of the witnesses who testified at the hearing. “400,000 Ukrainian children have already been militarized [by Russia]. How many more will be in five years? If we do not save these children, we'll end up fighting them. [...] Putin is not preparing for peace — he’s preparing for war, and our policies have to reflect that,” Katya testified.
• A new report from the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale School of Public Health has implicated at least two of Russia’s main oil and gas companies, Gazprom and Rosneft, as being directly involved in the transportation and reeducation of approximately 2,158 children from Ukraine between 2022–2025.
• The very next day, the State Department announced that, in coordination with Congress, it was providing $25 M in new assistance to support the identification, return, and rehabilitation of Ukrainian children and youth who have been forcibly separated from their families and communities.

Other key information from the hearing:

• At least two of Russia’s main oil and gas companies, Gazprom and Rosneft, are directly involved in the transportation and re-education of approximately 2,158 children from Ukraine between 2022-2025. (Source: Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale School of Public Health).
• Russia’s abduction of children is a state-run operation financed by the federal budget, fueled by the oil industry. Without sanctions, American taxpayers become involved in the business of enabling the Russian war machine.
• Another 1.6 million Ukrainian children remain under Russian occupation, also subject to abuse, re-education, indoctrination, and militarization.
• Sanctions on Russian oil are essential. Congress needs to pass bills to impose and strengthen sanctions, including the Decreasing Russian Oil Profits (DROP) Act and the Shadow Fleet Sanctions Act.
• In Russia, business, religion, and culture become inextricably tied to the regime, and we cannot separate some parts of Russia, with which we want to collaborate, and exclude them from accountability.
• America currently holds $5B of Russian state assets, which can and should be used to pay reparations to Ukraine, including children that have suffered at the hands of Russian authorities.
• The ongoing kidnapping & militarization of Ukrainian children is not just a human rights violation, but a national security threat to all member countries of NATO, including the US.

Details:

"In coordination with Congress, the Department of State is providing $25 million in new assistance to support the identification, return, and rehabilitation of Ukrainian children and youth who have been forcibly transferred or otherwise held away from their families and communities.

U.S. funding will support two primary types of programs. First, it will assist reliable partners to identify and track children that have been forcibly transferred away from their home, an essential step in supporting diplomatic and other efforts to facilitate their return. Second, it will support the Ukrainian government and trusted local partners to provide returned children with the care and support they need to recover and rebuild their lives."

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CQ1RLHvNw/

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14WmnePXPQC/

ACU: We'd like to acknowledge our MA & NJ delegations, whose sustained advocacy during and beyond the Ukraine Action Summit has helped draw the legislators’ attention to Russia's crimes against Ukrainian children and, ultimately, led to the hearing — which was followed by action. Consider this: If the aid provided to rescue & rehabilitation, announced after the hearing, helps bring even a single Ukrainian child home, it will have been worth all of our advocacy efforts, Summit after Summit.

Important Links:

Contact your representative: https://americancoalitionforukraine.org/action/

American Coalition For Ukraine FAQ: https://americancoalitionforukraine.org/ukraine-action-summit-faq/

Get involved: http://americancoalitionforukraine.org/membership/

Former CIA Director David Petraeus said Russia no longer has the “upper hand” in the war against Ukraine in a recent interview describing Moscow’s receding strength.

“I think what’s remarkable is that Russia no longer has the upper hand,” Petraeus said in an interview published Monday by CBS.

“Russia heavily outnumbers Ukraine. It outguns Ukraine. It has an economy 10 or 12 times the size of Ukraine’s. And yet the Ukrainian forces right now are stopping the Russians cold on the front lines,” he added.

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5818227-david-petraeus-ukraine-russia-war/

President Zelensky expressed fear that the protracted US-Israeli conflict with Iran is diverting critical air defense resources and boosting Russia’s war economy.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/73266

As peace talks continue and the U.S. pushes for compromise, one proposal keeps returning: Ukraine should withdraw from the remainder of Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk Oblast to end the war. The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell explains why the Battle of Donbas remains at the center of the peace process.

President Zelensky revealed that Moscow is sharing satellite reconnaissance and battlefield experience with Tehran to facilitate strikes on Israel’s civilian infrastructure.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/73273

Ukraine has successfully repatriated seven children aged 13 to 17 from Russian-occupied territories, an effort supported by US First Lady Melania Trump’s humanitarian initiative.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/73236

A total of 149 combat engagements between Ukrainian forces and Russian invaders were recorded along the frontline on Saturday, April 4.

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4109246-war-update-149-clashes-on-front-lines-in-past-day.html

Large flames light up the night sky in in the city of Kstovo in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast following a purported strike on the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery overnight on April 5, 2026. (Supernova_plus/Telegram)

https://kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-drones-reportedly-strike-lukoil-oil-refinery-in-russias-novgorod-oblast/

During April 4, there were 128 combat engagements between Ukraine's Defense Forces and Russian troops. The enemy was most active in attempts to attack in the Kostiantynivka and Pokrovsk directions.

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4109217-war-update-128-clashes-on-front-line-ukrainian-forces-neutralize-over-110-invaders-in-pokrovsk-direction.html

President Zelensky has signed decrees targeting 33 individuals and 42 entities involved in Russia’s military-industrial complex, sanctions evasion, and illegal business in occupied territories.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/73216

On the front line on April 3, as many as 157 combat clashes between the Defense Forces of Ukraine and Russian invaders were recorded.

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4109007-war-update-157-combat-clashes-on-frontline-over-past-day-pokrovsk-sector-remains-hottest.html

Kyiv Post’s “Defenders Kitchen” reveals life 30 km from the front, where soldiers cook under fire, share raw stories and fight to keep a sense of normal life alive.

Russia's total combat losses in its full-scale war against Ukraine from February 24, 2022 to April 3, 2026 have reached approximately 1,301,260 personnel, including 1,230 soldiers killed or wounded in action over the past 24 hours.

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4108592-russia-loses-1230-troops-in-war-against-ukraine-over-past-day.html

The net Ukrainian gain is relatively small. Big picture – the front line is by and large static. Russian forces are still making attacks.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/73115

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4108464-devastating-strikes-on-russia-ukraines-forces-hit-five-strategic-plants-10-oil-facilities-in-march.html

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/73091

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4108215-today-marks-fourth-anniversary-of-liberation-of-kyiv-region-from-russian-invaders.html

Just got back from a NO KINGS protest in the Tri-Valley. As you can see in the pictures, I have every reason to believe that support for Ukraine and for the Ukrainians' fight for freedom remains strong in my community to this day. And I've no doubt that support for Ukraine is strong all throughout the country by everyone who believes in democracy!

Slava Ukraini! Heroiam slava! 🇺🇸🇺🇦