Whitehouse Hosts Ukraine Prosecutor General Kostin, Reiterates Congressional Support for Holding Russian War Criminals Accountable for Atrocities in Ukraine
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today met with Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin in the Senator’s Washington, DC office to discuss ways the United States can support ongoing efforts to hold Russian war criminals accountable for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Ukraine.
“It was an honor to again host Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin this morning,” said Whitehouse. “My message to Prosecutor General Kostin was this: rest assured that America’s bipartisan support for Ukrainian victory is unwavering, and that Congress will help ensure these heinous crimes will not go unpunished.”
Whitehouse and Prosecutor General Kostin spoke about ensuring Ukraine has the resources it needs from the United States to prosecute Russian war criminals. In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday, Whitehouse asked Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco to ensure the United States is providing logistical, legal, and diplomatic support to Ukraine and is adequately cooperating with the International Criminal Court, as authorized by Congress, in its investigations of Russian war crimes.
Senators Whitehouse, Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) traveled to Kyiv in January to learn more about how the U.S. could better help Ukraine and its leaders achieve victory against Russia’s brutal regime. Whitehouse hosted Prosecutor General Kostin for a meeting in D.C. shortly after that trip.
“We’re going to go back to Washington and continue to raise the pressure on accountability – to the International Criminal Court, to whatever international tribunal may be established, and to courts of law – for the inhumane conduct not only by Putin, not only by the Wagner Group, but right down to the officers and brutal soldiers who’ve committed war crimes,” pledged Whitehouse in Kyiv in January.
Whitehouse and Kostin also discussed progress by the Department of Justice’s Task Force KleptoCapture, which has cracked down on illicit financial flows and sanctions evasion by Russian kleptocrats.
Senators Whitehouse and Graham passed bipartisan legislation late last year to ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin and his corrupt oligarchs pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine. The legislation allows the U.S. Attorney General to transfer to the State Department the proceeds from the sale of forfeited assets – from persons subject to sanctions for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related crimes – in order to provide foreign assistance to Ukraine, with oversight and reporting requirements to Congress. Attorney General Merrick Garland authorized the first transfer of seized Russian assets for Ukraine reconstruction in February.
