US Senate condemns Russia’s Vladimir Putin as ‘war criminal’

Vladimir Putin was condemned as a “war criminal” by the United States Senate on Tuesday as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine completes three weeks. The upper legislative chamber reached the decision with a unanimous vote.

The vote shows a rare instance of unity in the United States Senate, which has been thinly divided between the Republican and Democratic parties. 

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Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader and a Democrat from New York, said in a statement, “All of us in this chamber joined together, with Democrats and Republicans, to say that Vladimir Putin cannot escape accountability for the atrocities committed against the Ukrainian people.” The speech was given by Schumer before the Senate voted on the resolution.

“These atrocities deserve to be investigated for war crimes”, the Democratic lawmaker added in his statement.

Lindsey Graham, a GOP Senator from South Carolina, introduced the legislation in the United States Senate. According to reports from Reuters, the vote will put the Russian forces in the crosshairs of the International Criminal Court for any investigations of war crimes during the Ukraine invasion.

The International Criminal Court had earlier announced it has launched an investigation that could target senior officials believed responsible for war crimes and other violations over the war in Ukraine.

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It says the Senate condemns Putin, the Russian Federation, the Russian Security Council, members of the Russian military and others of committing flagrant acts of aggression and other atrocities that rise to the level of war crimes, according to reports from Associated Press.

United States Vice President Kamala Harris urged the international community to launch a war crimes investigation of Russia but stopped short of directly accusing the country. The remark came after Russia reportedly started bombing civilian areas, including a maternity hospital in Ukraine.