U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday announced the launch of a new joint UK, EU, US group to help support efforts of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General to document war crimes and other atrocities committed in Ukraine, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.
The new mechanism, called the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA), will “provide strategic advice and operational assistance to the War Crimes Units of the OPG, the legally constituted authority responsible for prosecuting war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine," Blinken said in a statement.
"Although the United States and our partners are supporting a range of international efforts to pursue accountability for atrocities, the OPG will play a crucial role in ensuring that those responsible for war crimes and other atrocities are held accountable," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during a daily briefing.
ACA "will liaise with the Department of Justice as it pursues accountability in U.S. courts,” he added.
In addition to streamlining efforts, the ACA will also provide expanded funding for the team of international prosecutors and other war crimes experts already deployed to the region.
Asked whether the ACA would be able to advise to investigate Putin, Price told TURAN's correspondent that the new initiative is focused on war crimes and potential war crimes in Ukraine.
"In the first instance they are going to look to criminally prosecute those who are in Ukraine, as is the case now with the Russian soldier who has recently undergone trial. But we have made the point clear that under international humanitarian law it’s not only the individual that pulls the trigger or conducts the war crime on the ground, but it is anyone in the chain of command who was witting and part of a war crime. And so that’s something that more broadly we will look to as well" he added.
Earlier this week, a 21-year-old Russian soldier was sentenced to life in prison for killing an unarmed man in Ukraine's first war crimes trial since Russia's invasion began.
Price also said evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine continues to mount.
“In addition to continued bombardments and missile strikes hitting densely populated areas, causing thousands of civilian deaths, we continue to see credible reports of violence of a different order,” he said, adding that it includes reports of “unarmed civilians shot in the back; individuals killed execution-style with their hands bound; bodies showing signs of torture, and horrific accounts of sexual violence against women and girls”.
Alex Raufoglu
Washington D.C.
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