The thousands of Ukrainian children abducted since Russia’s invasion began three-and-a-half-years-ago are once again at the forefront of international discussions as NATO leaders convened to discuss the war.

Following Russia’s deadly 2022 invasion, Ukrainian children have been among the war’s chief victims, with Kyiv confirming that there have been at least 19,546 cases of unlawful deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia, Belarus, or Russian-occupied territory, by Russian authorities.

Some reports have suggested the number of forcibly transported Ukrainian children could be significantly higher, ranging closer to 35,000 abductions – many of whom are feared to have been illegally adopted. 

Fox News Digital could not confirm if NATO leaders, who convened on Wednesday for a debrief by U.S. military leaders, will include how to remedy the immense human rights violations targeting Ukrainian children as they look to establish security guarantees, possibly as soon as this week.

But President Donald Trump, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday followed by a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO leaders on Monday, said the issue of forcibly deported Ukrainian children ‘is a subject at the top of all lists.’

The issue was reignited after First Lady Melania Trump sent a letter to Putin, which Trump hand-delivered during his meeting on Friday, in which she said, ‘it is time’ to restore children’s ‘dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger.’

‘A simple yet profound concept, Mr. Putin, as I am sure you agree, is that each generation’s descendants begin their lives with a purity—an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology,’ she wrote. 

The first lady did not specifically mention the war in Ukraine, though her letter, first obtained by Fox News Digital, was championed by Kyiv. 

Zelenskyy appeared to surprise Trump by in turn handing him a letter written by his wife, Olena Zelenska, intended for the first lady. 

The contents of the second letter have not been disclosed, but Trump noted his wife’s compassion when it comes to the issue of children – a topic Zelenska has also worked to address. 

‘She sees the heartbreak, the parents, the funerals that you see on television, always funerals,’ Trump said. 

Some children have been returned to Ukraine incrementally through the help of third-party mediators, like Qatar and the Vatican, though reporting suggests only some 1,500 have been released by Russian authorities. 

Ukrainian negotiators have been pushing for the return of the Ukrainian children for months as they meet with Russian counterparts in Turkey.

While prisoner-of-war swaps have been agreed to, Zelenskyy said Russian officials have refused to hand over any Ukrainian children directly to Kyiv. 

‘We cannot reach an agreement with them on the return of the children,’ Zelenskyy told reporters last week, adding that despite attempts it remains ‘impossible’ without the help of other parties involved. 

‘That is why we wanted to get certain matters settled in this trilateral track: ceasefire, an all-for-all exchange, and the return of children,’ he added. ‘This is something everyone benefits from: President Trump benefits, the Russians lose nothing, the Ukrainians lose nothing. It’s a fair compromise.’

The Trump administration’s Department of Transportation is raising standards for applicants seeking to become air traffic controllers, a move officials say will reduce the profession’s high washout rate.

Meanwhile, the department argued that the Biden administration’s decision during his first term to lower standards for applicants contributed to the higher attrition rate, while inflating the numbers of candidates entering the profession.

‘By eliminating the Best Qualified category and lowering the standard for how top scorers were defined, Biden and Buttigieg juiced the numbers to make it seem like they were making a dent in the air traffic controller shortage,’ a Department of Transportation spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

According to the DOT source, the Biden administration scrapped the ‘Best Qualified’ tier for candidates who scored 85% or better on their Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA) exam. That standard was replaced with a broader ‘Well Qualified’ category that included candidates who scored at least 80%, according to an internal agency PowerPoint from 2023, shared with Fox News Digital.

‘They lowered the standard from 85% to 80% to be best qualified … to get these young people into the academy,’ Trump Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told the New York Post’s Miranda Devine, referring to the Federal Aviation Training Center located in Oklahoma City. 

Under the second Trump administration, air traffic controller academy standards reverted to the four-tier system that includes ‘Best Qualified’ for scores of 90% or above, ‘Well-Qualified’ for scores between 85% and 89%, ‘Qualified’ for scores between 70% and 84% and ‘Not Referred’ for scores below 70%.

A DOT official said distinguishing top performers and allowing those with the highest scores to get first pick at training assignments makes it more likely candidates will complete the academy. Different airspaces require different training regimens, the source noted.

The official cited a Transportation Department report from before Trump’s return to office that warned, ‘Although the lower score selection may assist with increasing the number of applicable candidates to support the FAA’s hiring goals, there is a possibility that it may not contribute to better graduation and program success rates.

‘[The Biden administration] made it harder to identify the best and brightest and exacerbated the washout rate,’ the spokesperson said. ‘Secretary Duffy’s No. 1 priority is safety, which is why he’s restored the proper standards and prioritized the best and brightest for placement at the academy as part of his supercharge initiative.’

Earlier this year, Pete Buttigieg, the former transportation secretary under Biden, said on social media that ‘we did not change the rigorous standard for becoming a certified air traffic controller,’ calling those who were saying as much ‘mistaken or lying.’ 

‘We did increase funding & training, and grew the ATC workforce after years of declining numbers, including under Trump,’ Buttigieg added.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Buttigieg said in response to criticism about weaker standards that the pre-admission Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA) exam ‘has nothing to do with the standards of becoming a certified ATC.’

‘There is still a minimum standard of qualification, and that line hasn’t changed. And you still have to take a test. And that test hasn’t changed,’ the spokesperson said. 

Buttigieg’s spokesperson also described the accusations from the Trump administration as ‘a desperate attempt to deflect’ questions about whether the air traffic controller shortage is getting worse under Trump.  

‘The fact is, certified controller staffing fell during Trump’s first term,’ the spokesperson said. ‘But under Secretary Buttigieg’s watch, the FAA reversed years of staffing declines, meeting an aggressive hiring goal last year and creating the momentum to meet an even more aggressive hiring goal for this year.’

The FBI captured and arrested an individual on the FBI’s ‘Ten Most Wanted Fugitives’ list, Cindy Rodriguez Singh, in India, for a warrant for the murder of her 6-year-old son, Fox News Digital has learned.

Fox News Digital has learned that Rodriguez Singh had an active federal warrant for ‘unlawful flight to avoid prosecution,’ and an active Texas state warrant for ‘capital murder of a person under 10 years of age.’

Rodriguez Singh allegedly fled the United States to avoid prosecution on charges related to the murder of her child, Noel Rodriguez Alvarez.

On Oct. 3, 2024, an INTERPOL Red Notice was published for Rodriguez Singh and submitted to all member countries, including India. At that time, an extradition packet for Singh was also submitted.

The FBI, in coordination with Indian authorities and INTERPOL, arrested Rodriguez Singh in India. She has been transported to the United States and the FBI will turn her over to Texas authorities.

‘The FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list exists for cases just like this — where a dangerous fugitive thought she could run, hide overseas, and escape justice,’ FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital. ‘Thanks to relentless FBI work and our international partnerships, Cindy Rodriguez-Singh is back on American soil to face accountability for the horrific murder of her own child.’

Patel added: ‘Justice has no borders, and today the American people can see that we will never stop pursuing those who prey on the most innocent among us.’

On March 20, 2023, the Everman, Texas, Police Department was asked by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to conduct a welfare check on the 6-year-old son of Rodriguez Singh after the child had not been seen since October 2022, according to the FBI. 

Singh’s son had numerous health and developmental issues, including a severe developmental disorder, social disorder, bone density issues, chronic lung disease, pulmonary edema and estropia, according to officials.

During the welfare check, officials claim Rodriguez Singh lied to investigators and indicated that the child was in Mexico with his biological father and had been there since November 2022.

On March 22, 2023, Rodriguez Singh, her husband and six other juvenile children boarded an international flight to India, the FBI said, adding that investigators confirmed that the missing child was not present and never boarded that flight.

On Oct. 31, 2023, Rodriguez Singh was charged with capital murder in the District Court of Tarrant County, Fort Worth, Texas.

On Nov. 2, 2023, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Rodriguez Singh in the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth, Texas, after she was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Rodriguez Singh was added to the ‘most wanted’ list in July.

Rodriguez Singh is the fourth person arrested on the ‘most wanted’ list under Patel’s leadership. 

A throng of protesters chanted slogans as Vice President JD Vance thanked National Guard and police at Union Station in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.

Vance praised law enforcement and said that violent crime had dropped by 35% in the nine days since President Donald Trump ordered the crackdown. The vice president appeared alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, each of whom remarked on the shouting protesters.

Over the past several years, Vance described Union Station as having vagrants, drug addicts, ‘chronically homeless’ people and the mentally ill threatening violence and attacking families in the public transportation hub. 

‘I think you hear these guys outside here screaming at us. Of course, these are a bunch of crazy protesters. But I’ll tell you, a couple of years ago, when I brought my kids here, they were screamed at by violent vagrants. And it scared the hell out of my kids,’ Vance said. 

‘I know that we’ve traded now, some violent, crazy people who are screaming at kids with a few crazy liberals who are screaming at the vice president. But I think that’s a very worthwhile trade to make, because we want our people to be able to enjoy our beautiful cities,’ Vance continued. ‘This is your city. You should feel free to come and visit here.’ 

Vance also clashed with a reporter who asked if he had evidence of Washington’s crime problem. 

‘You just have to look around – obviously D.C. has a terrible crime problem,’ he said, pointing to how Department of Justice and FBI statistics ‘back it up.’ 

‘Just talk to a resident of this city, this beautiful, great American city,’ Vance said. ‘We hear these people outside screaming ‘Free D.C.’ Let’s free D.C. from lawlessness.’

‘It is kind of bizarre we have a bunch of old, primarily White people who are out there protesting the policies that keep people safe when they have never felt danger in their entire lives,’ the vice president added. 

Miller was even more blunt, describing many of the protesters as ‘elderly’ and ‘over 90 years old.’

‘We’re not going to let communists destroy a great American city, let alone the nation’s capital,’ Miller said, deriding the protesters as ‘stupid White hippies.’

‘For too long, 99% of this city has been terrorized by 1% of this city,’ Miller said. ‘And the voices that you hear out there, these crazy communists, they have no connection to the city. They have no families. They weren’t raised in this city. They have no one that they’re sending to school in this city. They have no jobs in this city. They have no connections to this community at all. They’re the ones who’ve been advocating for the 1%. The criminals, the killers, the rapists, the drug dealers.’

The Trump administration’s crackdown on violent crime in D.C. has already netted hundreds of arrests. The show of force has swept up gang members, robbery suspects and immigration violators. On Friday alone, 52 people were arrested, including 28 illegal immigrants, while three guns were seized.

Federal teams have also cleared dozens of homeless encampments, and officials said those removals were carried out without confrontations or arrests.

The operation began quietly on Aug. 7 with the launch of the ‘Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful’ task force created by Trump in March through an executive order. 

He escalated it on Aug. 11 by temporarily seizing federal control of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under emergency powers in the Home Rule Act, the first such move in U.S. history.

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced a transformation of the agency Wednesday that will cut the ‘bloated’ ODNI by more than 40% by the end of the year and save taxpayers more than $700 million annually, all while executing its core national security and intelligence mission ‘in the most agile, effective, and efficient way.’

Gabbard, on Wednesday, announced what she described as a ‘long-overdue’ transformation, that will refocus ODNI and eliminate offices that were involved in the politicization of intelligence. 

‘Over the last 20 years, ODNI has become bloated and inefficient, and the intelligence community is rife with abuse of power, unauthorized leaks of classified intelligence, and politicized weaponization of intelligence,’ Gabbard said. ‘ODNI and the IC must make serious changes to fulfill its responsibility to the American people and the U.S. Constitution by focusing on our core mission: find the truth and provide objective, unbiased, timely intelligence to the President and policymakers. Ending the weaponization of intelligence and holding bad actors accountable are essential to begin to earn the American people’s trust which has long been eroded.’

Gabbard said that ‘under President Trump’s leadership, ODNI 2.0 is the start of a new era focused on serving our country, fulfilling our core national security mission with excellence, always grounded in the U.S. Constitution, and ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.’ 

ODNI was first created after the 9/11 terror attacks and exposed systemic failures across the intelligence community. ODNI’s purpose was to integrate intelligence from and provide oversight over all intelligence community elements in order to ensure the intelligence provided to the president and policymakers was ‘timely, accurate, and apolitical.’

‘Unfortunately, two decades later, ODNI has fallen short in fulfilling its mandate,’ an ODNI spokesperson said.

ODNI 2.0 is set to eliminate ‘redundant missions, functions and personnel,’ and is set to make ‘critical investments’ in areas that support Trump’s national intelligence priorities.

ODNI officials said that ODNI 2.0 will focus on rebuilding trust, exposing politicization and weaponization of intelligence, holding bad actors accountable, saving American tax dollars, and focusing on their ‘core mission,’ which is to protect ‘the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.’

As part of the effort, Gabbard is closing ODNI’s Reston Campus and moving the National Intelligence Council to the main ODNI campus, which will ensure the all essential intelligence functions are kept ‘under one roof,’ which officials say will ‘enable savings,’ and will ensure ‘greater efficiency and oversight, and integration across the ODNI and IC.’

Gabbard is also leading intelligence community-wide reforms for ‘efficient and effective operations.’ Gabbard is expected to issue guidance to create a streamlined contracting authority for companies that pursue emerging technologies, and that are already approved for business with the IC to provide services quickly.

Gabbard is also leading an IC-wide effort to ‘rebalance and optimize’ its civilian and contractor workforce to ‘reduce bloat, increase analytic capability, remove stovepipes, eradicate politicization and analytic bias, accelerate information sharing, and increase efficiency to ensure mission success,’ officials said.

Meanwhile, Gabbard has also ended non-merit-based recruitment of intelligence community professionals.

As for ODNI components, the National Counterterrorism Center is building capability to increase two-way information sharing between federal, state, and local law enforcement to secure borders and communities.

As for the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, Gabbard is calling for a renewed focus on security clearance reform, deterring counterintelligence threats, and oversight of investigations and probes of unauthorized leaks of classified information.

A Russian drone may have crashed in a field in Poland, a move the country’s deputy prime minister called a ‘provocation,’ as the United States and European leaders continue to push Moscow to end its war in Ukraine. 

The drone hit a cornfield in the village of Osiny in the eastern Lublin province, about 62 miles from Poland’s border with Ukraine, Reuters reported. 

Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who also serves as defense minister, said Wednesday’s incident was similar to cases in which Russian drones flew into Lithuania and Romania, and could be linked to efforts to end the war in Ukraine, according to the outlet. 

‘Once again, we are dealing with a provocation by the Russian Federation, with a Russian drone. We are dealing with it in a crucial moment, when discussions about peace (in Ukraine) are underway,’ Kosiniak-Kamysz told journalists.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pawel Wronski told Reuters that some experts have suggested a Russian version of the Shahed drone developed by Iran was involved in the latest incident.

Polish Gen. Dariusz Malinowski said the drone had a Chinese engine and appeared to be a decoy that was designed to self-destruct.

The blast shattered windows in several homes, but nobody was injured, the Polish PAP news agency reported.

Police recovered burnt metal and plastic debris at the site.

‘I was sitting in my room at night, around midnight, maybe, and I heard something just bang,’ local resident Pawel Sudowski told local news website Lukow.tv. ‘It exploded so loudly that the whole house simply shook.’

On X, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said his ministry would issue a protest against the airspace violation, without naming the perpetrator. 

‘Another violation of our airspace from the East confirms that Poland’s most important mission towards NATO is the defence (sic) of our own territory,’ he wrote. 

The incident came as the Trump administration continues to broker talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the bloody three-year conflict. On Monday, Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and a group of European leaders at the White House.

On Friday he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. 

A Russian drone may have crashed in a field in Poland, a move the country’s deputy prime minister called a ‘provocation’ as the United States and European leaders continue to push Moscow to end its war in Ukraine. 

The drone hit a cornfield in the village of Osiny in the eastern Lublin province, about 62 miles from Poland’s border with Ukraine, Reuters reported. 

Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who also serves as defense minister, said Wednesday’s incident was similar to cases in which Russian drones flew into Lithuania and Romania and could be linked to efforts to end the war in Ukraine, according to the outlet. 

‘Once again, we are dealing with a provocation by the Russian Federation, with a Russian drone. We are dealing with it in a crucial moment, when discussions about peace (in Ukraine) are underway,’ Kosiniak-Kamysz told journalists.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pawel Wronski told Reuters some experts have suggested a Russian version of the Shahed drone developed by Iran was involved in the latest incident.

Polish Gen. Dariusz Malinowski said the drone had a Chinese engine and appeared to be a decoy that was designed to self-destruct.

The blast shattered windows in several homes, but nobody was injured, the Polish PAP news agency reported.

Police recovered burnt metal and plastic debris at the site.

‘I was sitting in my room at night, around midnight, maybe, and I heard something just bang,’ local resident Pawel Sudowski told local news website Lukow.tv. ‘It exploded so loudly that the whole house simply shook.’

On X, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said his ministry would issue a protest against the airspace violation without naming the perpetrator. 

‘Another violation of our airspace from the East confirms that Poland’s most important mission towards NATO is the defence (sic) of our own territory,’ he wrote. 

The incident came as the Trump administration continues to broker talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the bloody three-year conflict. On Monday, Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a group of European leaders at the White House.

On Friday, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. 

The NATO Chiefs of Defense reaffirmed support for Ukraine in a virtual meeting Wednesday in Brussels that included all 32 allied military leaders and featured the first briefing in this format led by U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the new Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine attended the meeting virtually, along with Grynkewich, who also leads U.S. European Command, U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday.

NATO officials said in a statement that the ‘candid discussion’ centered on what security guarantees the alliance might provide Ukraine as part of a potential peace agreement to end Russia’s three-year war.

Col. Martin O’Donnell, spokesperson for Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, wrote on X that ‘the Supreme Allied Commander was honored to brief the Chiefs of Defense, his first in such a format. As he has said before, ‘these are consequential times.”

‘NATO has faced important times before — and these have only made our Alliance stronger. As we work through these important issues, we will all stay informed, engaged, and united in the defense of the Euro-Atlantic region and with NATO’s ongoing support to Ukraine as progress towards peace continues,’ he added.

The Chair of NATO’s Military Committee also praised the discussions, writing on X that it was a ‘great, candid discussion among NATO Chiefs of Defence’ and an ‘excellent update on the security environment from our new SACEUR, his first with us.’

The chair added that the meeting confirmed support for Ukraine, emphasizing the alliance’s focus on a ‘just, credible and durable peace’ and praising the ‘relentless courage’ of Ukrainian forces.

According to the Associated Press, assurances that Ukraine won’t face another invasion are seen as central to any settlement, with Kyiv pressing for Western-backed military commitments, including weapons and training. European allies are working on options for a multinational security force that could backstop a peace deal.

Wednesday’s virtual session unfolded against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s push to steer Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy toward a settlement. Trump met with Putin last Friday in Alaska and hosted Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House on Monday. 

The reaffirmations come a day after Caine convened a smaller meeting in Washington with defense chiefs from Germany, the U.K., France, Finland and Italy to prepare for Wednesday’s broader NATO discussions.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized NATO discussions on Ukraine’s security conducted without Moscow’s involvement, warning that ‘this will not work’ and vowing Russia would ‘ensure its legitimate interests firmly and harshly,’ RIA Novosti reported, according to AP.

The White House did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Trump-aligned legal group founded by White House aide Stephen Miller filed Freedom of Information Act requests Thursday targeting a Biden organ transplant program that critics warn could be open to abuse.

The requests from America First Legal went to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. At issue is the Increasing Organ Transplant Access Model, a six-year mandatory program finalized in December 2024 and set to take effect in July 2025, which aims to expand access to kidney transplants but has drawn criticism from Trump officials who warn it may be vulnerable to outside influence.

The model builds on earlier payment experiments, testing whether financial rewards and penalties can improve care and expand access for Medicare and Medicaid patients.

Trump officials and allies, including America First Legal, argue the system risks distortion by outside interests — a charge that prompted AFL’s FOIA requests as part of a broader investigation.

They cited in part recent findings from an HRSA-led probe published earlier this year. That investigation suggested third-party groups or for-profit organizations ‘may have unduly influenced the IOTA Model’— though their exact role or the extent they may have done so is unclear.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also cited concerns from the study, which the department said in a statement ‘revealed clear negligence and disturbing practices’ by a large organ procurement organization in the U.S., prompting him to launch a new reform initiative.

In previewing the FOIA requests to Fox News Digital, AFL cited related concerns about patient safety, ethical misconduct, and discrimination in organ allocation, among other things.

The requests ask HHS, CMS and HRSA for a long list of information regarding the program and related correspondence — including emails, letters and memos between agency personnel and third-party representatives about the development or implementation of the IOTA Model. They also seek meeting records, agendas and summaries of discussions involving agency staff and outside officials.

The payment model will affect more than 100 U.S. transplant hospitals over six years, imposing mandatory financial incentives and penalties tied to a final performance score.

IOTA was touted as a way to help increase access to organ donors and transplants in the U.S. and help address the long waiting list of patients awaiting a transplant, which as of last fall stood at roughly 90,000 people.

Participating hospitals are evaluated for their performance in three key areas, according to CMS’s final rule, which took force in July, including the volume of kidney transplants, their matching efficiency, and post-transplant outcomes of their patients. But the role outside groups have played, including during the process of drafting the final rule, has prompted criticism and calls for additional scrutiny from Trump allies, including AFL. 

Self-interested third parties should play no role in shaping America’s organ transplant policy,’ AFL counsel Laura Stell told Fox News Digital in a statement previewing the FOIA requests and broader investigation.

‘Where monetary incentives and penalties come into play, there must be utmost certainty that CMS developed the program without influence from entities with improper motives.’

America First Legal, though not officially part of the Trump administration, was founded by longtime Trump adviser Stephen Miller after Trump’s first presidential term. 

Miller stepped down from AFL before rejoining the White House in 2025 as Trump’s deputy chief of staff.