The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harrishas assured this Saturday that Russia has committed, “formally” and “without any doubt”, crimes against humanity during his invasion of Ukraine. “The United States has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity,” Harris said during his appearance this Saturday at the Munich Security Conference.

The Biden Administration formally concluded last March that the russian troops they had committed war crimes in Ukraine. An accusation of crimes against humanity goes one step further, insisting that the attacks against the civilian population they are being carried out “in a widespread and systematic manner”, according to the principles of the Rome Statute that underpin the International Criminal Court. Harris has singled out Russian forces for perpetrating widespread attacks and systematic attacks against the civilian population, from executions to beatings to electrocutions.

In his speech, Harris cited concrete examples as indiscriminate attacks against civiliansincluding the bombing of a maternity hospital who killed a pregnant mother and a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of people died. Likewise, the vice president has accused Russia of “forcibly deporting hundreds of thousands of people from Ukraine, including children, all separated from their families.”

“For all this, and in the case of Russia’s acts in Ukraine, we have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards and these are, without a doubt, crimes against humanity.” “And I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes, and to their superiors who are complicit in these crimes, they will be held accountable,” added the US vice president. in his speech before reiterating his full support for the Ukrainian forces.

“There will be more dark days in Ukraine. The daily agony will continue,” he declared before addressing the Russian president directly, Vladimir Putin. “If you think you can hold on, you are sorely mistaken. time is not on your side,” said the US vice president. Shortly after, the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinkenhas influenced the distinction of the charges in a statement in which he has reiterated the formal accusation against Moscow for some attacks that are “not random nor spontaneous”; rather, they are part of a “systematic operation of the Kremlin against the civilian population of Ukraine”.

“We have reserved determinations of crimes against humanity for the most heinous crimes. Today’s determination underscores the staggering extent of human suffering inflicted by Moscow on the Ukrainian civilian population,” added the Secretary of State. “This determination also reflects the deep commitment of the United States to hold members of the Russian forces and other Russian officials accountable for their atrocities against the people of Ukraine,” he added.