US Ending Legal Initiatives Targeting War Crimes in Ukraine

The Trump administration is rolling back law enforcement initiatives focused on prosecuting accusations of Russian atrocities in Ukraine as it upends the US approach to the conflict in Europe.

The moves include the Justice Department withdrawing from a multinational investigation of possible “crimes of aggression” by Kremlin leaders in violation of international law. US authorities informed a European Union-based agency of its plans to stop its involvement at the end of March, according to an agency wide email seen by Bloomberg Law.

DOJ is also winding down the work of a War Crimes Accountability Team that sought to aid international prosecutions and bring cases in the US, according to people familiar with the matter.

The actions mark a sharp break in agency priorities over the war and are part of a broader overhaul in US foreign policy under President Donald Trump that includes efforts to broker an end to the fighting.

Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Tuesday, which had in the lead-up to the call triggered worries in Europe about what concessions the US may offer. Putin demanded the suspension of arms and intelligence support for Ukraine as part of any lasting ceasefire, according to a Kremlin account of the call reported by Bloomberg.

The rollback in legal initiatives raises further questions about US international policy, said Eli Rosenbaum, the former head of the DOJ’s Ukraine war crimes WarCAT team.

He raised specific concerns over the DOJ ending its involvement in an investigation into crimes of aggression, which had represented the first time since the aftermath of World War II that the US got involved in such efforts.

“My fear is that the withdrawal signals a change in US policy such that we no longer prioritize or even condemn the forcible acquisition of territory through arms by a country,” Rosenbaum said.

The Justice Department didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Changing Priorities

The DOJ’s moves on Russia and Ukraine are part of a bigger overhaul that seeks to dial back a number of initiatives in favor of ramping up immigration enforcement.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, in one of her first acts leading the Justice Department, disbanded a KleptoCapture unit enforcing the sanctions imposed on the Kremlin and Putin’s backers, while directing more attention to cartels and transnational criminal organizations.

Bondi’s predecessor, Merrick Garland, launched the Klepto team, along with WarCAT, in the months following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a 2023 speech, he touted the work, noting the Klepto unit seized or restrained over $500 million in assets and that the war crimes team was assisting Ukraine in developing an electronic system for the more than 90,000 suspected crimes the country had registered by that point. The war crimes team also played a part in bringing charges against four Russia-affiliated military personnel for the alleged torturing of an American citizen in Ukraine—a case that remains pending.

That same year, Garland appointed a DOJ prosecutor, Jessica Kim, to be the US representative at the International Centre for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, housed within the Hague-based European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation.

The US was the only non-European nation to be a member of the group, which was formed to coordinate on evidence gathering and prosecution strategies for domestic cases against Russian leaders. Other countries include Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor office also designated staff to participate.

The body, known as ICPA, is also preparing cases for a future special tribunal, which the US and its counterparts in Europe have for years been working to form.

ICPA

The EU’s judicial cooperation agency, or Eurojust, on Tuesday confirmed the US said it will no longer be involved in ICPA, but a spokesman didn’t respond to questions on any reason given for the move. It’s also unclear how the US discussions with Russia will affect ongoing efforts to form a criminal tribunal.

Michael Schmid, the Eurojust president, said in his March 17 email to agency personnel and representatives from EU member states that the US remains a “key partner.” He also said the agency remained committed to its “accountability efforts.”

The State Department previously allocated $1.8 million to help fund ICPA, said Beth Van Schaack, who until January served as the agency’s ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice.

“The US has had a longstanding commitment to promoting justice around the world,” she said. “I hope that would continue in the current administration, including in the context of Ukraine.”

It wasn’t clear how the US departure from ICPA or its move to wind down efforts undertaken by the DOJ’s war crimes unit would impact active investigations, as well as efforts to bring cases to court.

Russian forces are accused of targeting civilians as well as torture and executions. When giving public remarks in 2023, Garland also spoke out about the forced deportation of children and Russia’s use of sexual violence as a “weapon of war.”