The White House Office of Management and Budget has recommended terminating funding for programs investigating global war crimes, including allegations of crimes conducted during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The development is yet another sign of President Donald Trump providing cover for Russia’s conduct under dictator Vladimir Putin.
Reuters reported on Thursday that the proposal is likely to be rubber-stamped by the State Department and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Funds would also be cut for investigations involving Sri Lanka, the Gambia, Nepal, and Iraq.
Among the groups that would be hit are Global Rights Compliance, which has a team in place with the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group for Ukraine set up by the U.S., the European Union, and the United Kingdom. That group is assisting Ukrainian law enforcement to investigate and prosecute international crimes associated with the war.
In March, a report released by the United Nations’ Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine found that “Russian authorities committed enforced disappearances and torture as crimes against humanity.” The report said Russia has engaged in a “widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population” of Ukraine.
In 2022, Human Rights Watch, a global nongovernmental organization, said it had documented Russian forces engaging in laws-of-war violations against civilians in several areas of Ukraine. Similarly, in November of last year, Amnesty International said Russian military strikes in Ukraine that have killed children “amount to war crimes.”
Since becoming a political figure, Trump has aligned himself with Putin. In 2020, a bipartisan investigation by the Senate concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of helping Trump to defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
In May, Trump admitted to intentionally holding back on using American power and influence to pressure Russia amid its war against Ukraine. Earlier in June, while at a G7 summit in Canada, Trump lamented that Russia had been kicked out of the group under the former Obama administration after Russia annexed parts of Ukraine.
Trump’s soft touch on Russia stands in contrast to American policy under former President Joe Biden. Biden levied sanctions against Russia for the war, and in 2023, Biden’s Department of Justice charged Russian-allied troops with war crimes.
Now, under Trump, Russia will likely get another pass while Ukrainian civilians are killed, tortured, and abused.