Sen. Lindsey Graham will introduce a resolution for the Senate to press the International Criminal Court to investigate Russian President Vladimir Putin for potential war crimes, The Hill reported on Wednesday.
The South Carolina Republican said the resolution would support "the complaint filed by the Ukrainian government. This is a good example of where the International Criminal Court should exercise jurisdiction ... I want the Senate to vote and speak with one voice in support of this complaint."
Graham said at a press conference that he has discussed the non-binding, draft resolution with a few Democrats, saying "I'm going to introduce this thing pretty soon and I'm going to try to build consensus."
At a press conference with Graham, Rep. Victoria Spartz, an Indiana Republican who was born in Ukraine, told reporters about messages she is receiving from her friends and family in Ukraine, saying "this is criminal. This is pure killing of individuals. This is just brutal."
Earlier this week the International Criminal Court said it was opening a probe into what is happening in Ukraine.
Graham said the draft Senate resolution would condemn "the ongoing violence, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and systematic human rights abuses continually being carried out by the Russian Armed Forces and their proxies," and would urge countries worldwide to press for a war crimes investigation and back a probe into Putin for war crimes, according to The Hill.
The resolution comes as congressmen are also in discussions to provide aid for Ukraine, with the Biden administration requesting $6.4 billion, but senators talking about a figure closer to $10 billion.
They are hoping to include the aid package in the government funding bill that must pass by March 11 in order to avoid a shutdown of the federal government.
"The Senate must keep working on a bipartisan basis to pass a robust aid package in the upcoming omnibus, so we can send an unmistakable signal to Ukraine that we stand with them and that we stand against Putin," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. "The omnibus needs to get done next week, so I'm glad that we seem to be having bipartisan support to get that done."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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