Earlier today at the Munich Security Conference, Vice President Kamala Harris formally accused Russia of crimes against humanity for its shelling of civilian populations, and other despicable crimes. It's the first time the U.S. has made a formal declaration of that kind against Russia for its aggression:
'In a marquee address at the Munich Security Conference, Harris detailed that Russia is responsible for a 'widespread and systematic attack' against Ukraine’s civilian population, citing evidence of execution-style killings, rape, torture and forceful deportations — sometimes perpetrated against children. As a result, Russia has not only committed war crimes, as the administration formally concluded in March, but also illegal acts against non-combatants.
'Their actions are an assault on our common values, an attack on our common humanity' the vice president said, referencing images of bodies lying in the streets of Bucha and the sexual assault of a four-year-old girl by a Russian soldier. 'Barbaric and inhumane.'
Harris then declared: 'The United States has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity.'
The Biden administration will continue to assist Ukraine in its investigation into these alleged crimes, she said, vowing that the perpetrators and 'their superiors' will be 'held to account.'” (our emphasis)
The world community has witnessed the illegal and immoral actions of the Russian military in Ukraine at the behest of thug and war criminal Vladimir Putin. Various international organizations are collecting evidence of Russia's crimes that Harris touched on, with the aim of presenting a case of war crimes to the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands. Last November, Amnesty International said that Russia was likely "committing crimes against humanity in Ukraine." The U.S. formally accusing Russia of crimes against humanity should move the legal case forward at a faster clip.
(photo: Thomas Kienzle/AFP/Getty)
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