The US has ‘formally determined’ that Russia had committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine, US Vice-President Kamala Harris has said.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Harris accused Russia of ‘gruesome acts of murder, torture, rape and deportation’ since its invasion.
World leaders at the conference called for long-term support of Ukraine.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said now was the time to ‘double down’ on military support.
The prime minister argued that Western allies must start planning for the future security of Ukraine, as well as sending the weapons it needs to defend itself now.
The conference in Germany comes as the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches on February 24.
Harris told the conference that the perpetrators of alleged Russian crimes in Ukraine must be held to account.
“Their actions are an assault on our common values and our common humanity,” she said.
The UN defines crimes against humanity as a ‘widespread or systemic attack; on a particular civilian population.
Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilians during its invasion.
“In the case of Russia’s actions in Ukraine we have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, and there is no doubt: these are crimes against humanity,” Harris, a former prosecutor, told the conference.
She cited ‘barbaric and inhumane’ atrocities during the war in Ukraine, including the scores of bodies found in Bucha shortly after the invasion and the bombing of a theatre in Mariupol.
“Let us all agree: on behalf of all the victims, both known and unknown, justice must be served,” she said.
Crimes against humanity are tried at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
But the ICC has no powers to arrest suspects and can only exercise jurisdiction within countries which signed up to the agreement that set up the court.
Russia is not a signatory to that agreement, so it is unlikely to extradite any suspects.
The three-day gathering in Munich will provide a key test of Western support for Kyiv as both sides in the war prepare for spring offensives.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Moscow had ‘waged a genocidal war’ because it did not think Ukrainians ‘deserve to exist as a sovereign nation’.
Tens of thousands have lost their lives and millions have been forced from their homes as part of Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
This conference has largely been a gathering of American and European leaders. It’s a chance for them to reaffirm their support for Ukraine and demonstrate their resolve.
But in the margins, there have been voices of doubt.
l US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on the sidelines of the conference, a senior State Department official said, amid a running dispute between the two world powers over a suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down by the US.
“We can confirm that Secretary Blinken concluded a meeting with ... Wang Yi on the margins of the Munich Security Conference,” the State Department official said, on condition of anonymity.
&uuid=(email))