The US is withdrawing from a multinational panel investigating Russia’s crimes during its invasion of Ukraine, including the actions of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. About this informs The New York Times.
This is the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA), which was created to prosecute the leadership of Russia, as well as its allies in Belarus, North Korea and Iran, for aggression that violates the sovereignty of another country and was not initiated in self-defense.
The US Department of Justice has already notified European officials of its intention to withdraw from this group. An official announcement of the decision is expected to take place on March 17 via an email sent to staff and members of the group’s parent organization, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation.
Former US President Joe Biden’s administration joined the ICPA in 2023, and the US was the only country outside of Europe to cooperate with the group.
In addition, Donald Trump’s administration is also reducing the activities of the War Crimes Investigation Team, created in 2022 by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland and staffed by experienced prosecutors. This group coordinated the US Department of Justice’s efforts to prosecute Russian citizens responsible for atrocities committed after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
