The U.S. officially declared that Russia has committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
In a landmark speech Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, a former prosecutor, offered a detailed account of the egregious crimes committed by Russia against Ukraine’s civilian population.
Harris cited evidence, including the scores of victims found in Bucha shortly after Russia's invasion last February; the March 9 bombing of a Mariupol maternity hospital that killed three people, including a child; and the sexual assault of a 4-year-old by a Russian soldier identified by a U.N. report. She condemned these actions as "barbaric and inhumane."
Harris said the U.S. will continue to help Ukraine further investigate such crimes.
“And 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," Harris said.
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who is attending the conference, had praise for Harris’ words.
"The vice president's speech today was one of the most consequential speeches ever made in the Munich Security Conference," Graham told reporters in Munich.
“The Chinese said something today that was very important ... they reject the idea of nuclear weapons being used in the conflict," he said of the war in Ukraine. "Between what the Chinese said and what the vice president said, this is a bad day for Russia.”
Ukraine Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova hailed Harris’ declaration during an interview Saturday with Tatiana Vorozhko of VOA’s Ukrainian service.
“Whether it's war crimes in Ukraine, whether it's a crime of aggression, whether it's the genocide and or other crimes that Russia committed in Ukraine, it's very important for Ukraine to hold them accountable,” she said. “But I think it's very important for all of us — and this is what Madam Vice President clearly said — that they have to be held accountable for these horrible crimes. And it's important for everyone who believes in the same values.”
In addition to the evidence Harris presented Saturday, The Conflict Observatory, a program supported by the U.S. Department of State, released detailing a network of Russia-run sites and processes used to relocate thousands of Ukraine’s children to areas under Russian government control.
“Mounting evidence of Russia’s actions lays bare the Kremlin’s aims to deny and suppress Ukraine’s identity, history, and culture," the statement read. "The devastating impacts of Putin’s war on Ukraine’s children will be felt for generations. The United States will stand with Ukraine and pursue accountability for Russia’s appalling abuses for as long as it takes.”
While crimes against humanity are not officially codified in an international treaty, they are still adjudicated in the International Criminal Court and other global bodies, according to the
“In contrast with genocide, crimes against humanity do not need to target a specific group,” the U.N. said. “Instead, the victim of the attack can be any civilian population, regardless of its affiliation or identity.”
In the U.S. on Friday, the U.S. senators from the state of West Virginia, Joe Manchin, a Democrat, and Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, introduced on Friday a
“Putin’s unprovoked invasion and terrible acts of war have amounted to a genocide against the Ukrainian people,” Manchin said. “It is our responsibility as a world power and democratic leader to support our allies in times of need and we must hold Russia accountable for its continued atrocities against Ukraine. Our bipartisan resolution is an important step towards recognizing the depths of Russia’s war crimes and reaffirming America’s commitment to support the Ukrainian people as they defend their country from tyranny.”
Ukrainian soldiers holding off a Russian offensive on the small eastern city of Bakhmut are pleading for more weapons.
"Give us more military equipment, more weapons, and we will deal with the Russian occupier, we will destroy them," said Dmytro, a serviceman standing in the snow near Bakhmut, Reuters reported.
Russian rockets and artillery pummeled a residential district in the city Thursday, killing three men and two women and wounding nine, Ukraine's prosecutor general said.
Russian troops have been trying to take Bakhmut for months, and the city, which once had 70,000 inhabitants, is under near-constant shelling.