The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee accused the Russian military of “basically” committing genocide in various Ukrainian towns.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), who returned from a trip to Kyiv this weekend where he and other members met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on MSNBC on Monday, “When the Russians take over, they kill civilians. They just basically commit genocide in the towns.”
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The Russian military has been accused of various war crimes in the five months the war has gone on, including the indiscriminate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, alleged torture of civilians, and claims of forced deportations and sexual violence.
Smith, who was accompanied on the trip by Reps. Mike Waltz (R-FL), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), and Mike Quigley (D-IL), got to visit some of the villages outside of the capital where some war crimes had been reported, including mass graves in Bucha where civilians were found bound and executed.
“They took us out … into some of the towns and villages surrounding Kyiv to go to the site of the battles. Most movingly was to go to Bucha to see the mass grave behind the church and to see the images of Ukrainian civilians killed by the Russians when they were in there,” Smith said. “In talking with the mayor and officials from the towns that we visited, there’s an incredible amount of morale and passion to defend and protect the country. They see what happens when the Russians take over.”
Investigators from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe sent to Ukraine to evaluate the situation determined earlier this month that the Russian military had “extensively violated” international human rights laws in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government, with international support, has launched investigations into thousands of allegations of war crimes and has already gotten a handful of convictions of Russian soldiers, though these trials could go on for years.
Smith added that Zelensky expressed gratitude for the military aid the United States has sent but noted that Ukraine wants more of the equipment.
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“It is really a matter of more of what we have been giving them,” he explained. “What has made a huge difference just in the last month are the HIMAR artillery systems that enable them to do a long range, fires up to a comfortable distance, also help with targeting for that. What we have given them has been incredibly helpful, but they want more — they want more of the ammunition, they want more of the long-range fire systems, and they want to be in a position to retake some of their territory.”
The U.S. has provided 16 of the Lockheed Martin-produced High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems so far, four of which were included in aid announced on Friday and likely haven’t made it to the front lines. However, Ukrainian defense leaders said they need dozens more to launch a successful counterattack.
