Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) joined Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and a bipartisan group of his colleagues in introducing a resolution calling for Vladimir Putin and members of the Russian regime to be held accountable for the numerous acts of war, aggression and human rights abuses that have taken place in Ukraine.
“Putin’s inhumane and unprovoked attack on Ukraine and its people can’t go unpunished, and neither should his dark history of jailing and even murdering dissidents. By holding Putin and his allies accountable for the innocent blood they have on their hands, we can ensure they’re brought to justice and prevent future atrocities,” Grassley said.
“Dictators like Putin care only about themselves and their cronies,” said Graham. “This resolution supports efforts to bring forward war crimes complaints against the Putin regime to the International Criminal Court and is a chance to stop Putin’s madness. The resolution supports the investigation of Putin as a war criminal and urges the ICC and ICJ to expand their investigation to include the Russian military and its commanders who are carrying out these war crimes. If the United States Senate supports efforts to hold Putin accountable, I believe other nations will join. It will be the first step in decades to make the consequences of his actions real to Putin.”
Specifically, this resolution supports Ukraine’s war crimes complaint to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by:
- Strongly condemning the ongoing violence, war crimes, crimes against humanity and systematic human rights abuses continually being carried out by the Russian Armed Forces, their proxies and Putin’s military commanders – all at the direction of Putin.
- Encouraging nations to take any and all action to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Russian Security Council, the Russian Armed Forces, their proxies and Putin’s military commanders – all at the direction of Putin.
- Supporting any investigation into war crimes, crimes against humanity and systematic human rights abuses levied by Putin, the Russian Security Council, the Russian Armed Forces, their proxies and Putin’s military commanders.
- Encouraging the U.S. government and partner nations to use its voice, vote and influence in international institutions in which they are members to hold Putin, the Russian Security Council, the Russian Armed Forces, their proxies and President Putin’s military commanders accountable for their sponsorship of ongoing violence, war crimes, crimes against humanity and systematic human rights abuses.
The resolution is also cosponsored by Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Angus King (I-Maine), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).
This week, Grassley has pushed to ban any further imports of Russian oil; helped introduce the American Energy Independence Act of 2022, which seeks to return American energy to full production; introduced separate legislation to sanction all Russian state-owned enterprises; called on Russia to be removed from the United Nations Security Council; urged Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to block Russian access to any additional financing through the International Monetary Fund (IMF); and supported an effort to investigate and sanction a Russian mercenary group Putin reportedly hired to assassinate Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
