US lawmakers submit resolution calling Russian war in Ukraine genocide

A draft resolution recognizing Russia’s war against Ukraine as genocidal was among the first bills submitted to the new US Congress on January 6, the congressional website showed.

The draft resolution was submitted by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, UkraineAmbassador to the United States Oksana Markarova said in a Facebook post.

“The systematic actions against the Ukrainian people committed by Russian “The forces under the leadership of the political leadership of the Russian Federation meet one or more of the criteria of Article II of the Genocide Convention,” the preamble to the draft resolution states. read.

The resolution cites the Russian military’s intentional targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, systematic sexual violence against Ukrainian women, men and children, and the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

“All crimes committed by the Russian Federation must be reflected in American law to ensure that Russian criminals are punished and prevent such heinous crimes in the future,” the Ukrainian ambassador wrote in her message. job.

“At present, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine has opened 170,090 cases of crimes related to the aggression of the Russian Federation (151,698 for war crimes),” Markarova added.

The draft resolution calls on the United States to condemn Russia and support Ukraine and international jurisdiction against those responsible for Russian actions.

At the start of 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian official who allegedly oversaw the forced deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia.