By LVIV. March 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland emphasizes that the struggle of Ukrainians and Ukrainian law enforcement officers against Russian aggression is a struggle for democratic world, therefore the U.S. Department of Justice is involved in war crimes investigations.
The U.S. Attorney General said on Friday in Lviv during the opening of the international conference United for Justice that he was here (at the “legal Ramstein”), because the struggle of Ukraine is not only about Ukraine. This is both all democracy, global freedom, and they are on your side. He was there because he wanted us to know that we are not alone, they are standing by our shoulder in our efforts and the world’s efforts to hold accountable the atrocities committed in Ukraine. He was there to let us know that they are with you.
He stressed that the level of atrocities committed by the Russian Federation cannot be compared with any crimes in military conflicts after the Second World War.
According to Garland, over the course of the year, prosecutors collected an array of evidence of Russian crimes against the civilian population and civilian infrastructure, documented the facts of the deportation of Ukrainian children and the commission of sexual violence by the Russian military.
He noted that Ukrainian prosecutors, like Ukrainians as a whole, boldly defend democracy and the rule of law.
The Attorney General said that the United States, the Department of Justice was honored to stand by our side that day. The courage of Ukrainians inspires and builds an international coalition to hold the Russian regime accountable for its crimes. Now the United States has signed an agreement with Ukraine, Slovenia, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Slovakia to join forces to hold Russia accountable for war crimes, the U.S. Attorney General said.
According to him, this agreement will contribute to the identification of war criminals and the investigation of cases against them. The U.S. Attorney General assured that war criminals would be found and could not escape responsibility.
Garland believes that together American and Ukrainian prosecutors will investigate, in particular, high-profile cases of Russian crimes, including attacks on civilian targets.
At the same time, the U.S. Attorney General noted that this is not the first time the U.S. Department of Justice has been working with the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office.
