WASHINGTON – 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.
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