WP: Trump administration disbands task force investigating Russian war crimes against Ukraine

The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, has reported on the disbanding of a US task force authorised to collect data on war crimes committed by Russia against Ukraine and the dismissal of its coordinator. Source: European Pravda with reference to The Washington Post Details: According to three current and former officials, unnamed by the WP, the interagency task force headed by the coordinator has been disbanded.

Two of WP's sources said that the coordinator, who was authorised by law to collect intelligence across the government on atrocities committed by Russia in Ukraine, had been dismissed.

A law co-sponsored by House Representative Jason Crow and former Congressman Michael Waltz, the current US National Security Advisor, created the position under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. "The atrocities coordinator position is ... tasked with holding Putin responsible for the crimes he's committed against the Ukrainian people," Crow said in his statement to the WP.

"This position was created by Congress on a bipartisan basis, and the administration must empower whoever serves in this position to carry out their duties as required by law," he said. Crow said that if US President Donald Trump and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard "want to achieve lasting peace, they must be willing to hold Putin accountable for the crimes he's committed in Ukraine".

Taken together, experts believe that these actions signal to allies and adversaries that the United States has ceased to be a global voice for the rule of law.

Background:

After taking office, the Trump administration decided to withdraw the United States from the international group led by the European Union and created to punish Russia for violating international law during the invasion of Ukraine.
The White House also reduced the work of the Justice Department's War Crimes Accountability Group and eliminated the programme to seize the assets of Russian oligarchs under sanctions.
Several US national security agencies have stopped working on coordinated efforts to counter Russian sabotage, disinformation and cyberattacks.

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