WASHINGTON: US Attorney General Merrick Garland was visiting Ukraine on Tuesday (Jun 21) to discuss prosecution of individuals involved in war crimes in the European nation invaded by Russia in late February, a Justice Department official said.
Garland is meeting with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova near the Polish-Ukrainian border, the official said.
They will discuss US and international efforts to help Ukraine “identify, apprehend, and prosecute those individuals involved in war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine,” the official said.
Garland is stopping in Ukraine on his way to the US-EU Ministerial in Paris.
Nearly four months after Russia invaded Ukraine, Kyiv says it has identified thousands of suspected war crimes cases.
Most notorious have been the allegations of wanton murder of scores of civilians in Bucha, just outside the Ukrainian capital.
The US State Department announced the creation of a new unit in May to research, document and publicize alleged war crimes by Russia in Ukraine.