US vice president Kamala Harris has called for an international war crimes investigation into Russia’s bombing of civilians in Ukraine.
Ms Harris was speaking on a visit to Poland on Thursday when she said Russian president Vladimir Putin should be held to account for his military invasion of Ukraine and weeks-long assault on civilians.
Her call for an investigation comes after a US National Security Council spokesperson said it was collecting evidence of war crimes and alleged human rights abuses following Russia’s invasion in an interview with NBC News on Monday.
That was thought to include shelling and bombardment of civilians in Ukraine’s biggest cities, some of which have been flattened after two weeks of assault by Mr Putin’s military. Death tolls for both sides meanwhile remain unclear.
Ms Harris will also hold meetings with Polish president Andrzej Duda and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday afternoon, with the Biden administration looking to show its support to Nato members and EU allies.
Poland, which has so far taken some one million refugees who have fled Ukraine, was rebuked by the White House on Wednesday after it said it offered to give Ukraine its fighterjets as part of a deal with Washington DC.
Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor for the international criminal court (ICC), said earlier this week that work would begin “as rapidly as possible” to look for possible crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine.
The US was among 39 countries who referred Russia to the court, which is based in The Netherlands.
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