Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse met with Ukrainian Attorney General Andriy Kostin in his office in Washington on Thursday to discuss how the United States can support efforts to bring Russian war criminals to justice for crimes committed in Ukraine.
“My message to Attorney General Kostin was this: Rest assured that bipartisan American support for Ukraine’s fight for victory is unwavering and that Congress will provide assistance to ensure that these heinous crimes do not go unpunished,” he said. Whitehouse said in a statement.
The senator and the attorney general discussed the resources Ukraine needs to prosecute Russian war criminals. During yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Whitehouse asked Assistant U.S. Attorney General Lisa Monaco to assist Kiev with logistical, legal and diplomatic support and in cooperation with the International Criminal Court to investigate crimes of Russian war.
Democratic Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Richard Blumenthal and Republican Lindsey Graham traveled to Kiev in January to learn more about how the United States can better help Ukraine and its leaders deal with the Russian invasion. Shortly after this trip, Whitehouse invited Attorney General Kostin to a meeting in Washington.
Whitehouse and Costin also discussed the work of the KleptoCapture group, created under the US Department of Justice to combat illicit financial flows and the Kremlin’s circumvention of sanctions.
Senators Whitehouse and Graham passed a bipartisan bill late last year guaranteeing Russian President Vladimir Putin and corrupt Russian oligarchs to pay for rebuilding Ukraine. Legislation allows the U.S. Attorney General to transfer to the State Department proceeds from the sale of assets confiscated from persons subject to sanctions imposed in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related crimes.
Attorney General Merrick Garland authorized the first transfer of seized Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine in February.
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