US senators submit draft resolution on recognizing Russia's war against Ukraine as genocide

Only days ahead of the one-year anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators again submitted to the Senate a draft resolution on recognizing Russia’s war against Ukraine as genocide.

According to HuffPost, the group is led by Senator James Risch, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. Ben Cardin.

“One year into Putin’s brutal and unjustified war against Ukraine, it is beyond clear that Russia has been committing genocide,” Risch said in a statement.

The resolution says the invasion meets the five-part standard set out in a global treaty outlawing genocide signed in 1948, three years after the end of World War II. Those conditions include killing or causing serious physical or mental harm to members of a group; inflicting “conditions of life” meant to bring about a group’s destruction; imposing measures aimed at preventing births among a group and forcibly transferring children of a group to another group.

The resolution also calls for supporting international tribunals and investigations into Russia’s war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, committed by Russia.

“I saw the atrocities firsthand last June during my visit to Ukraine, and each day there seems to be new reports on the inhumane actions committed by Russian soldiers against the innocent Ukrainian people. It is time the U.S. government call it what it is and work with our allies to investigate and hold accountable those responsible for this brutality,” Risch said

Last year, the senator already prepared such a resolution, but it did not come to a vote. It was approved only by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Several lawmakers interviewed by HuffPost last year said Russia’s invasion may have led to atrocities or war crimes but did not rise to the level of genocide.