NYT: Pentagon bars Biden administration from sharing evidence of Russian war crimes

The Pentagon is blocking the Biden administration from sharing evidence with the International Criminal Court in the Hague gathered by American intelligence agencies about Russian atrocities in Ukraine, New York Times reports on March 8, citing current and former officials familiar with the matter.

"American military leaders oppose helping the court investigate Russians because they fear setting a precedent that might help pave the way for it to prosecute Americans," the New York Times writes. 

The rest of the administration, including intelligence agencies and the State and Justice Departments, favors giving the evidence to the court, according to the officials.

The information reportedly includes material about decisions by Russian officials to target civilian infrastructure deliberately and to abduct thousands of Ukrainian children from occupied territory.

International and Ukrainian prosecutors recently analyzed new evidence about at least 20 torture chambers the Russians ran on the right bank of Kherson Oblast over eight months of the occupation. Prosecutors also collected statements from more than 1,000 victims of unlawful detention and torture by the Russian security services in the occupied areas of the region. 

Speaking at a justice conference in Lviv on March 3, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv has registered "over 70,000 Russian war crimes" committed in Ukraine since feb. 24, 2022. "Russian President Vladimir Putin and all his accomplices must receive lawful and fair sentences," he added.