Washington: The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a resolution late Tuesday seeking investigations of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his regime for war crimes over the invasion of Ukraine. The bipartisan measure from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says the Senate strongly condemns the “violence, war crimes. crimes against humanity” being carried out by Russian military forces under Putin’s direction. It encourages international criminal courts to investigate Putin, his security council and military leaders for possible war crimes. “These atrocities deserve to be investigated for war crimes,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The measure was approved swiftly and without dissent as lawmakers in Congress continue to muscle a bipartisan show of force against the Russian war in Ukraine. First introduced almost two weeks ago, the Senate resolution would not carry the force of law, but is another example of Congress providing the Biden administration political support to take a tough line against Putin’s aggression.
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Last week, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris embraced calls for an international war crimes investigation of Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, citing the “atrocities” of bombing civilians, including a maternity hospital. Speaking alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda at a press conference in Warsaw, Harris stopped short of directly accusing Russia of having committed war crimes. “Absolutely there should be an investigation, and we should all be watching,” said Harris, noting that the United Nations has already started a process to review allegations.