The administration of US President Donald Trump has disbanded a special group that investigated Russian war crimes in Ukraine and also reduced the position of its coordinator at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
This is reported by “The Washington Post”.
Trump cuts investigation into Russian crimes against Ukraine
According to two sources familiar with the matter, the coordinator who, according to the law, was authorized to collect intelligence on atrocities committed by Russia in Ukraine was dismissed. This position was created in accordance with the law, co-authored by a member of the House of Representatives Jason Crowe and former Congressman Michael Walz.
Congressman Crowe criticized the decision in a statement to WP: “The atrocities coordinator position… is designed to hold Putin accountable for his crimes against the Ukrainian people… This position was created by Congress on a bipartisan basis, and the administration must enable the person in this position to carry out their duties as required by law.”
He added that if President Trump and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Hubbard “want to achieve a lasting peace, they must be prepared to hold Putin accountable for his crimes in Ukraine.”
Three current and former U.S. officials also confirmed to the publication that the interagency task force that the coordinator led has also been disbanded. Experts interviewed by WP believe that such actions signal to U.S. allies and adversaries that the United States is diminishing its role as a “global voice for the rule of law.”
“This is a deeply disturbing departure from the United States’ commitment to holding accountable those responsible for war crimes and aggression, especially in the bloodiest conflict Europe has seen since World War II,” said Eli Rosenbaum, the former head of the Justice Department’s war crimes investigation team who resigned in January 2024.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), to which the coordinator formally reports, did not comment to The Washington Post on the matter.
State Department to Provide Temporary Funding for Yale Project on Russian Child Deportations
The U.S. State Department has decided to provide short-term funding for Yale University’s Conflict Observatory project, which is investigating Russia’s deportation of Ukrainian children.
The United States has asked Russia to return the abducted Ukrainian children as a “confidence-building measure.”
The head of the President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, stated that Russia continues to commit crimes against Ukrainian children, keeping under its control up to 1.6 million minors – deported or those living in occupied territories.
The White House Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by billionaire Elon Musk, previously stopped funding the Humanitarian Research Laboratory of Yale University, which helped with the search for Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
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