Russia has committed \u201ccrimes against humanity\u201d, says Biden administration
\n Kharkiv
\nThe Biden administration formally concluded that Russia has committed \u201ccrimes against humanity\u201d during its nearly year-long invasion of Ukraine, US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Saturday.
\n\u201cIn the case of Russia\u2019s actions in Ukraine we have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, and there is no doubt: these are crimes against humanity,\u201d Harris, a former prosecutor, said at the Munich Security Conference.
\n\u201cAnd I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes, and to their superiors who are complicit in these crimes, you will be held to account.\u201d
\nThe official determination, which came at the end of a legal analysis led by the US State Department, carries with it no immediate consequences for the ongoing war.
\nBut Washington hopes that it could help further isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin and galvanize legal efforts to hold members of his government accountable through international courts and sanctions.
\nHarris\u2019 speech comes as senior Western leaders met in Munich to assess Europe\u2019s worst conflict since World War Two.
\nShe said Russia was now a \u201cweakened\u201d country after Biden led a coalition to punish Putin for the invasion, but Russia is only intensifying assaults in Ukraine\u2019s east. Meanwhile, Ukraine is planning a spring counteroffensive, for which it is seeking more, heavier and longer-range weapons from its Western allies.
\nThe nearly year-long war has killed tens of thousands, uprooted millions from their homes, pummelled the global economy and made Putin a pariah in the West.
\nWashington had already concluded that Russian forces were guilty of war crimes, as has a UN mandated investigation, but the Biden administration conclusion that Russia\u2019s actions amount to \u201ccrimes against humanity\u201d implies a legal analysis that acts from murder to rape are widespread, systematic and intentionally directed against civilians. In international law, it is seen as a more serious offence.
\n\u2018BARBARIC AND INHUMANE\u2019
\nIn her remarks, Harris cited as \u201cbarbaric and inhumane\u201d the scores of victims found in Bucha shortly after Russia\u2019s invasion last February; the March 9 bombing og a Mariupol maternity hospital, that killed three people, including a child; and the sexual assault of a four-year-old by a Russian soldier that was identified by the UN report.
\nOrganizations supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have documented more than 30,000 war crimes incidents since the invasion, according to the US government. Ukrainian officials said they were investigating the shelling of the city of Bakhmut just this week as a possible war crime.
\nRussia, which says it is conducting a \u201cspecial military operation\u201d in Ukraine to eliminate threats to its security and protect Russian-speakers, has denied intentionally targeting civilians or committing war crimes.
\n\u201cLet us all agree: on behalf of all the victims, both known and unknown, justice must be served,\u201d Harris said.
\nThe Biden administration has sought to bring alleged war criminals to justice, including training Ukrainian investigators, imposing sanctions, blocking visas and hiking penalties under US war crimes laws.
\nWashington has spent some $40 million on the efforts so far and says it is working with Congress to secure an additional $38 million for the efforts.
\nBut the Biden administration\u2019s ability to enforce any such efforts beyond its borders – and certainly within Russia – is limited. Collecting evidence in the war-torn country, too, has proven difficult.
\nInternational legal bodies are also constrained. At the International Criminal Court, for instance, jurisdiction extends only to member states and states that have agreed to its jurisdiction, such as Ukraine but not Russia. Kyiv has been pushing for a new international war crimes organization to focus on the Russian invasion, which Moscow has opposed.
\n\u201cIf Putin thinks he can wait us out, he is badly mistaken,\u201d Harris said. \u201cTime is not on his side.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russia has committed \u201ccrimes against humanity\u201d, says Biden administration Kharkiv The Biden administration formally concluded that Russia has committed \u201ccrimes against humanity\u201d during its nearly year-long invasion of Ukraine, US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Saturday. \u201cIn the case of Russia\u2019s actions in Ukraine we have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":314815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-314776","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n