Trump administration moves to cut US funding for Ukraine war crimes investigations

It is known that on June 25, the White House Office of Management and Budget sent a letter to the State Department. The letter contains a proposal to cut funding for a number of programs.

Sources told the news agency that among the programs on the chopping block are projects aimed at holding perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine accountable, including:

• The Global Rights Compliance project: it helps collect evidence of Russian war crimes across Ukraine, including evidence of sexual violence and torture committed by Russian forces.

• The Legal Action Network project: a legal aid group that supports Ukraine's efforts to hold Russians accountable for war crimes.

The US State Department, for its part, has the authority to reject the White House's recommendation. However, the document requires the Department to justify why a particular program should be preserved.

It is unlikely the State Department will be able to ignore this requirement. However, one of the outlet's sources suggested that Secretary of State Marco Rubio may step in to defend these projects.

Special Tribunal for Russia to begin work soon in Europe

While the US is pushing to cut funding for investigations into Russian war crimes in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Secretary General of the Council of Europe signed an agreement on June 25 to establish a Special Tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

After the signing, Zelenskyy stated that all Russian war criminals, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, will face justice. The move has already provoked outrage from the Russian Foreign Ministry. However, it is unlikely that Russia's opinion will be taken into account during the tribunal's proceedings or verdicts.

More details on what the Special Tribunal entails, how it will function, and whether Putin could ultimately be jailed can be found in RBC-Ukraine's full report.