The U.S. is leaving the group investigating Russia’s crimes in Ukraine

The U.S. is leaving the multinational group investigating Russia’s crimes during its invasion of Ukraine, including the actions of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

Source: European Pravda, citing The New York Times

Details: The group in question is the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA), established to hold the Russian leadership, as well as its allies in Belarus, North Korea, and Iran, accountable for aggression that violates another country’s sovereignty and was not initiated in self-defense.

According to NYT sources familiar with the situation, the U.S. Department of Justice has already informed European officials about the decision to withdraw from the group.

The decision is expected to be officially announced on March 17 in an email sent to staff members and participants of the group’s parent organization—the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation.

The administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden joined the ICPA in 2023. The U.S. was the only non-European country cooperating with the group.

Moreover, according to The New York Times, the Trump administration is also scaling back the work of the War Crimes Investigation Group, which was established in 2022 by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland and staffed with experienced prosecutors.  

This group was responsible for coordinating the U.S. Department of Justice’s efforts to hold Russians accountable for atrocities committed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.  

Background:  

• In November 2023, the Biden administration allocated $1 million to support the work of the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.  

• In December of the same year, the U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against four Russian soldiers for war crimes against an American citizen who was living in Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale invasion—marking the first such case.

Ulyana Krychkovska, Iryna Balachuk

Ukraine Front Lines