US government assesses Russian forces committed war crimes in Ukraine

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Amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, an assessment done by the United States claims that the Russian military committed war crimes in Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin ordered special "military operations" in the neighbouring country.

On Wednesday (March 23), the US said that public information and intelligence it has collected amounts to strong evidence that the war crimes have been committed in Ukraine.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, "Today, I can announce that, based on information currently available, the US government assesses that members of Russia's forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine."

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"We've seen numerous credible reports of indiscriminate attacks and attacks deliberately targeting civilians, as well as other atrocities," Blinken said.

The US assessment that tells that war crimes were committed "is based on a careful review of available information from public and intelligence sources," he said.

"We are committed to pursuing accountability using every tool available, including criminal prosecutions," he added.

As per United Nations, the concept of war crimes developed particularly at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.

During that time, the international humanitarian law, which is also known as the law of armed conflict, was codified.

The Hague Conventions was adopted in 1899 and 1907 focus on the prohibition of warring parties to use certain means and methods of warfare.

War crimes mean grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949. Violation includes wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, wilfully causing great suffering, extensive destruction and appropriation of property, etc.

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Outrage over Mariupol theatre bombing

The announcement of assessment came as Russian forces continued to bombard the southern Ukraine city of Mariupol.

Some days ago, Russian forces bombeda maternity hospital and a theatre where hundreds of civilians had taken refuge. The incident had sparked global outrage.

However, Blinken did not specify cases that the United States had concluded amounted to war crimes. But he talked about the devastation of Mariupol in his announcement.

"As of March 22, officials in besieged Mariupol said that more than 2,400 civilians had been killed in that city alone," he said.

US President Joe Biden last week labelled Putin as "a war criminal" for attacking Ukraine.

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(With inputs from agencies)