United States Vice President Kamala Harris said on Feb. 18 at the Munich Security Conference that the U.S. had determined Russia committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
"In the case of Russia's actions in Ukraine, we have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, and there is no doubt, these are crimes against humanity. The United States has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity," Harris said.
Harris called Russia's actions in Ukraine an "assault on our common values" and said Russia had committed "“gruesome acts of murder,” torture, rape, and deportation in a “widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population.”
The security conference held on Feb. 17-19 brought together multiple Western leaders, including Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and French President Emmanuel Macron. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius pledged continued support of Ukraine at the conference. Macron similarly called on Europe as a whole to "invest more in defense."
In her remarks at the conference, Harris also stressed the importance that the world must discourage other autocracies from taking a similar path as Russia by making an example out of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
"No nation is safe in a world where one country can violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of another, where crimes against humanity are committed with impunity, where a country with imperialist ambitions can go unchecked," Harris said.
Harris also said reminded the audience how a year prior she had warned the same conference of an imminent Russian invasion.
“Today, a year later we know: Kyiv is still standing,” she said. “Russia is weakened, the trans-Atlantic alliance is stronger than ever.”
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