The United States was among more than 40 countries that agreed to work together to assist war crimes investigations in Ukraine.
The agreement was signed at the Ukraine Accountability Conference in The Hague on Thursday, only hours after a Russian strike left more than 20 people dead in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared a terrorist attack.
Ukrainian and Western leaders have repeatedly accused the Russian military of committing war crimes and targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. Russian leaders have denied the allegations.
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“In all situations across the world where international crimes are committed, we should feel the same urgency for action and for cooperation. I believe that the work we do today can set a model for action that can be used to accelerate accountability efforts in all situations addressed by my office,” said International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan in a statement.
The agreement included a $20 million pledge to the ICC and the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office, which is leading the investigation within the war-torn country. The office has opened more than 23,000 war crimes investigations.
The list of alleged war crimes committed by Russian soldiers is extensive, ranging from attacks on schools and hospitals to the execution and rape of civilians to the deportation or detention of possibly more than a million Ukrainians.
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared the Russians’ forced detainment or deportation of roughly a million Ukrainians a war crime and demanded Russia “immediately halt its systematic ‘filtration’ operations and forced deportations in Russian-controlled and held areas of Ukraine.”
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“Eyewitnesses and survivors of ‘filtration’ operations, detentions, and forced deportations report frequent threats, harassment, and incidents of torture by Russian security forces,” Blinken continued. “During this process, Russian authorities also reportedly capture and store biometric and personal data, subject civilians to invasive searches and interrogations, and coerce Ukrainian citizens into signing agreements to stay in Russia, hindering their ability to freely return home.”
A recent report on Russian aggression from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe also documented the “alarming phenomena” of the “establishment and use of so-called filtration centers,” according to the State Department.
