U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, D-Bourne, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment, and Cyber, reintroduced legislation calling for President Joe Biden to “support the establishment of an international tribunal for the punishment of the crime of aggression against Ukraine.” Keating proposed the legislation alongside Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pennsylvania, Mike Quickly, D-Illinois, and Jim McGovern, D-Worcester.
“It is up to the international community to pursue all legal avenues to hold the Russian officials waging a barbaric war against Ukraine accountable,” the representatives said in a joint statement. “Vladimir Putin and his warlords are not only an enemy of Ukraine but a threat to the international order, a threat that requires a legitimate international body to hold them to account. Not since the Second World War has the international community held such a war tribunal, but unfortunately, the acts of aggression that have been committed in Ukraine require that we do so again. We have faith that the Ukrainian people will prevail, and that when this war ends, international legal institutions will rise to the occasion, holding aggressors responsible for their actions.”
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and its troops have been accused of numerous war crimes. The representatives called in a press release for the U.S. to “lead the international community in holding accountable those Russian officials responsible” for the war. “As the latest barrage of missile strikes from the Russian Federation rains on civilians and critical infrastructure, the immediate need to prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine has become only more apparent. As such, this resolution aims to provide the Biden administration with the mandate necessary to lead support for establishing a special tribunal for the punishment of the crime of aggression in Ukraine,” the release states.
Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter states, “All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.” Additionally, according to the release, U.N. General Assembly Resolution 3314 defines aggression as “the use of armed force by a state against the sovereignty, territorial integrity, or political independence of another state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the charter of the United Nations.” These include the invasion of or attack on another state, blockading ports or coasts through armed force, and allowing the use of territory by another state to attack another state, among others.
According to the release, “most tribunals related to the crime of aggression took place between November 1945 and November 1949. For the crime of aggression, no one has been prosecuted before or since.”
The U.S. has supported Ukraine through other means so far, such as providing military equipment and placing sanctions on Russia. Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced it will be sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
The Island has shown its own forms of support for Ukraine, such as demonstrations, Martha’s Vineyard Hospital donating medical supplies, and fundraising to help newborn Ukrainian babies.
In a phone call with The Times, Keating said now was the time to act against Russia’s war in Ukraine. “We wanted to wait until we had strong bipartisan support for it,” he said.
A visit to near the Moldovan-Ukrainian border and hearing about what people endured in Ukraine was a part of why Keating pushed for the special tribunals. “The stories were frightening. The torture, the rape, the targeting of civilians,” he said.
On the week the legislation was announced, Keating also met two Ukrainian officials: the prosecutor general of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin, and the mayor of Bucha, Anatolii Fedoruk.
“We discussed this piece of legislation and other issues of prosecuting war criminals and prosecuting Russia as a country,” Keating said about his conversation with Kostin. According to Keating, the European Union is also working on similar legislation to judge Russian war crimes. “They have moved forward on theirs, and I wanted to work on it here in the U.S.”
Charges are on the way for those who committed war crimes in Ukraine, of which Kostin told Keating there was evidence of at least 60,000. Vadim Shyshimarin was the first Russian soldier to be sentenced for “killing an unarmed Ukrainian civilian, in the first war crimes trial since Moscow’s invasion began three months ago,” NBC News reported in May. On Thursday, BBC released an interview with former Russian military officer Konstantin Yefremov, who fled his country and made allegations of Russian soldiers conducting torture, mistreatment of Ukrainian prisoners, and looting. War crimes also took place in Bucha.
Mass graves were found in Bucha, Ukraine, during the war and more than 400 Ukrainians were “killed indiscriminately” in a month by Russian armed forces, Keating said. He described “the levels of atrocities” committed by Russian troops as “unreal.” Other than the massacre of civilians, Keating also heard other stories from Fedoruk about what Russian troops did in Bucha. A “renowned concert pianist” who fled Bucha after it was captured by Russia left behind a piano. Upon returning to Bucha after Ukraine recaptured it, the pianist found the piano was wired to explode when played.
Keating underscored the importance of the international community holding Russia accountable for its war crimes while the conflict is ongoing. He said trying to prosecute Russia after the war means victims’ voices are lost, and many perpetrators escape consequences. Toward this goal, Keating has been working with various organizations and individuals, such as international attorneys and the investigative journalism and fact-checking group Bellingcat, alongside hearings.
“What’s so important … is a common effort to document and preserve the evidence, preserve witness testimony as things occur,” Keating said. “When these acts of atrocities occur, it’s so important to keep them accountable.”
While action has been taken against Russian officials and soldiers, Keating said the legislation calling for a special tribunal would hold the Russian government accountable. Punitive measures against the Russian government also act as a deterrent against other countries from enacting their own invasions, according to Keating.
Keating also made a point on why it is important to hinder Russian advances. According to the congressman, Russia has plans beyond Ukraine that target countries that are a part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to “disarm” multiple member states. “Even an inch” of aggression into a NATO country’s lands means the U.S., also a part of NATO, would be forced into a war against Russia, likely costing many American lives.
“It’s so important to stop them in Ukraine,” Keating said. “Some people don’t realize how close we are to the frontlines.”
Keating, why dont you focus Totally on our `Southern Border` first as that is a totally failed US National Security issue that you endorse!!!
I have never been impressed with your leadership, especially when you and your fellow co-workers held that shameful, embarrassing sit-in in the house chambers like spoiled children a few years ago.
Man up and “Secure our Southern Border”, Russia is definitely not in your league!
If you didnt have a (D) following your name you would be long gone.
This is a great idea!
It might be a way to reveal the true origins of the conflict in Ukraine and get more information out to the American public—including DC denizens such as Congressman Keating.
Of course, the outcome, and the reveals, might not please Keating.
The “international community” to which Keating refers consists of a few governments representing a very small portion of the earth’s population.