Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday said Russia should “absolutely” be investigated for potential war crimes, stopping short of Polish President Andrzej Duda’s assertion that Russia is “obviously” committing war crimes.
Harris made the comments during a joint news conference in Poland, where she was meeting with Duda about the Ukraine crisis. This week, Ukraine called Russia’s bombing a maternity hospital an “atrocity” and a war crime.
“Absolutely, there should be an investigation, and we should all be watching, and I have no question that the eyes of the world are on this war and what Russia has done in terms of this aggression and these atrocities,” Harris said.
The vice president also announced an additional $50 million from the U.S. for humanitarian assistance in Ukraine through the United Nations World Food Program, although that funding is a fraction of the aid Congress is poised to pass. The House on Wednesday approved a spending bill that includes $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine and Eastern European countries, including $3.9 billion for humanitarian assistance.
Harris landed in Poland at an awkward time, as the U.S. and Poland were discussing sending Russian-made fighter jets to Ukraine, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had asked Congress over the weekend for planes to help Ukraine fight off the Russians. Poland surprised allies by announcing this week that it would transfer all its MIG-29 fighter jets to the U.S.’ Ramstein air base in Germany, with the expectation that they would be given to Ukrainian pilots. Although Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said Sunday on “Face the Nation” that NATO countries have a “green light” to transfer the planes, on Wednesday, the U.S. decided against helping Poland send its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, fearing the move could be seen by Russia as an escalation that might trigger a larger war in Europe.
Harris presented the United States’ relationship with Poland as a united front.
“The U.S. and Poland are united in what we have done and are prepared to do to help Ukraine and the people of Ukraine. Full stop,” Harris said, as she stood next to Duda.
During the news conference Duda explained the Poland’s earlier decision to send the planes to Ramstein, telling reporters that told reporters that the idea was to place the planes at NATO’s disposal, so Poland would not be seen as unilaterally making a decision that could impact all of NATO.
Nearly1.5 million refugees from Ukraine have been flooding into Poland since the invasion began, Duda said, adding that none have gone to refugee camps because the Polish people have opened their homes and hotels to house them.
