“A Catastrophic Blow”: U.S. Shuts Unit Investigating War Crimes in Ukraine
Raymond presented the findings to the United Nations Security Council, stating: “In at least one case, a sibling was separated by Russia from their brothers and sisters as part of a placement with citizens of Russia.”
Speaking to RFE/RL on March 18, Raymond said his team’s work had been “truly heroic” in documenting war crimes and crimes against humanity for three years.
It was, he said, trying to continue its work in its last days but this was hampered because its access to satellite imagery had also been cut.
“We are tracking 35,000 children potentially within Russia and the occupied territories in over 100 locations, including reeducation camps and foster and adoption settings from the Black Sea all the way to the Pacific coast in Magadan,” he said.
Raymond also said his team had lost access to the vast archive of data it accumulated over three years. They had previously accessed the data through a State Department program.
A group of US lawmakers have written to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying they believe the archive may have been deleted.
The previous work included “documenting attacks on power generation infrastructure, which preceded four indictments by the International Criminal Court, including two against [Russian General Valery] Gerasimov and [former Defense Minister Sergei] Shoigu for alleged crimes against humanity.”
It also included work on damage to crop infrastructure and tracking adult detainees and prisoners of war. “That work has ended as well,” said Raymond.
Some of this data is still available to the ICC, Europol, and Ukrainian prosecutors, as it was handed over for previous cases. In total, the Yale unit’s evidence helped six ICC indictments.
“We are doing what we can with what we have left, but unfortunately, it’s very little,” Raymond said.
The issue of returning abducted children has also been made a central point of any future peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.
Asked about it on March 11, Rubio said “there will be a lot of issues to unravel — among them, not least of which is the humanitarian concerns, the children.”
The draft conclusions from the March 20-21 EU summit, seen by RFE/RL, also highlight the issue.
“A credible pathway to peace must include humanitarian relief efforts, notably the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilians and the return of all Ukrainian children and other civilians unlawfully deported and transferred to Russia and Belarus.”
Raymond said his team’s work had been important not only in terms of accountability but “also in catalyzing diplomatic efforts, including efforts to negotiate for the children’s return.”
Ray Furlong is a Senior International Correspondent for RFE/RL. This article is reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
