Foreign experts investigating Russian war crimes have stopped travelling to Ukraine — media outlets have cited the reason
This is according to Reuters.
Of the more than 40 organisations investigating war crimes in Ukraine and assisting in legal proceedings against Russians, almost all have faced a lack of funding. The experts interviewed by the agency included law enforcement officers, legal experts, human rights activists and researchers.
According to sources, dozens of foreign experts who had been collecting and analysing evidence on the battlefield have stopped travelling to Ukraine, as the US has cut funding for the country.
According to Beth Van Schaack, the US Ambassador for Criminal Justice who held the post during Joe Biden’s presidency, the reduction in US aid could result in many victims of the war being denied justice.
It is reported that the Trump administration’s funding cuts have affected half of the US-funded projects in the country aimed at exposing Russian war crimes.
At the same time, the US State Department stated that the country is shifting the financial burden of the war onto Europe and other ‘willing partners’, yet it still provides significant assistance to Ukraine, particularly for programmes aimed at ‘investigating war crimes, justice and accountability for atrocities’.
According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have opened over 230,000 cases concerning war crimes committed by the Russian Federation’s armed forces since the start of the full-scale invasion. The charges relate to attacks on civilians and shelling of civilian infrastructure, the abduction and deportation of children, torture and sexual violence.
Closure of USAID: what is known
On 21 January 2025, US President Donald Trump decided to suspend all US foreign aid. The decision specifically concerns economic and humanitarian development programmes and projects implemented by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Trump’s executive order stated that the United States’ foreign aid priorities do not serve American interests and, in many cases, contradict American values.
Back in March, following a six-day review, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the cancellation of 83% of USAID programmes. According to him, tens of billions of dollars had been spent on funding these programmes “in a manner that did not serve (and in some cases even harmed) the core national interests of the US”.
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