The freeze on foreign aid funding by the administration of US President Donald Trump has begun to affect international efforts to hold Russia accountable for the war crimes committed in Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Since the beginning of Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine, 140,000 of war crimes by Russian occupiers have been documented, targeting both Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, including rape, torture, and executions.
The report says, citing eight sources and a Ukrainian document reviewed by the journalists, that the suspension of the funding has a negative impact on investigations of those crimes.
The document reveals that six projects from the Office of the Prosecutor General, valued at $89 million, are now at risk. Funding for at least five of these projects has been frozen. These projects were focused on various issues, from preserving battlefield evidence to anti-corruption initiatives and prosecutorial reforms in Ukraine.
Two of the projects were funded by USAID, three by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, and one directly by the US State Department. Of the total amount, $47 million was designated specifically for holding the Russians accountable for war crimes.
Consequences include the cessation of work by nearly 40 experts provided by Georgetown University’s International Criminal Justice Initiative. One source involved in providing external legal experts to Ukraine reported that “some partners have no more money to pay their staff.”
Another source revealed that an adviser in the Office of the Prosecutor General was sent on leave, and the project supporting victims of sexual violence related to the war was also suspended.
Ukrainian non-governmental organizations have also been affected. Representatives from two such organizations told Reuters that their efforts to gather testimony from victims and document damages may be at risk or already frozen.
Related:
- The cost of “easy money”: Russian services eliminate their own sabotage recruits in recent attacks on Ukraine’s military recruitment centers
- Russian nuclear scientists may still spy on CERN through FSB-linked institute exempt from sanctions, Forbes warns
- Sumy husband-wife team to face trial for revealing Ukrainian defense positions to Russians
- SBU arrests suspected Russian spies, foils sabotage plots in Lyman, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Vinnytsia
