Putin will be prosecuted for war crimes, Ukrainian ambassador says

Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. said on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be prosecuted for war crimes.

Oksana Markarova told moderator Margaret Brennan during an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that all Russians who played a role in war crimes committed during the invasion of Ukraine will be prosecuted.

Her comment came in response to a question regarding the possibility of rank-and-file soldiers facing trial in Ukraine.

“I know that lawyers have to say ‘alleged.’ I can say war crimes because we see them, we see them in real time so we have all this, witnesses on the ground,” Markarova said.

“We filed all the criminal charges in the International Court. We have the criminal cases opened in Ukraine, more than 4,000 of individual criminal cases already by the prosecutor general. We have 10 more countries that opened their own individual criminal prosecutions, and we are providing all the evidence to them,” she added.

The ambassador said “all of them will be prosecuted,” including “military commanders, personnel, people who did it on the ground, but people who ordered it and ultimately Putin.”

The Biden administration has determined that Russian forces committed war crimes in Ukraine.

Last week, the House passed a bill that would require the administration to detail its efforts to collect evidence of war crimes that Russian forces have committed in Ukraine.

President Biden also announced new sanctions against Ukraine in a speech last Wednesday, during which he said Russia would be held accountable for committing “major war crimes” in Ukraine.

“Bodies left in streets as Russian troops withdrew. Some shot in the back of the head with their hands tied behind their backs. Civilians executed in cold blood. Bodies dumped into mass graves,” Biden said.

“A sense of brutality and inhumanity left for all of the world to see, unapologetically. There is nothing less happening than major war crimes. Responsible nations have to come together to hold these perpetrators accountable,” he added.

Updated: 5:03 p.m.