The Defense Department is blocking efforts by the U.S. government to share evidence of possible Russian war crimes in Ukraine with the International Criminal Court, a senior U.S. diplomat told lawmakers Wednesday. Beth Van Schaack, the State Department’s ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, said at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Pentagon continues to hold up U.S. cooperation with the Hague court in its investigations of suspected atrocities in Ukraine. The New York Times first reported in March the Pentagon’s reluctance to share information about Ukraine with the ICC. The ICC opened an investigation into possible U.S. crimes in Afghanistan in 2017. Van Schaack argued at Wednesday’s hearing that sharing relevant information about suspected war crimes in Ukraine with the Hague court would not raise potential legal risks for U.S. troops.

Source: International New York Times June 01, 2023 07:45 UTC