A senior European Union official has warned that any US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine must not allow President Vladimir Putin to escape accountability for alleged war crimes. Michael McGrath, the European commissioner for justice and democracy, told Politico that negotiators should ensure no ceasefire agreement permits Russia to avoid prosecution, setting a potential red line for a settlement.
His comments reflect European concern over the original American proposal, which reportedly included a “full amnesty for actions committed during the war” and steps to reintegrate Russia into the global economy. Mr McGrath said: “I don’t think history will judge kindly any effort to wipe the slate clean for Russian crimes in Ukraine. They must be held accountable for those crimes and that will be the approach of the European Union in all of these discussions.”
The Trump administration has pushed for a reset with Moscow, despite accusations against Russia ranging from the abduction of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children to attacks on civilians in Bucha, Mariupol and other cities. Mr McGrath added: “Were we to do so, to allow for impunity for those crimes, we would be sowing the seeds of the next round of aggression and the next invasion. And I believe that that would be a historic mistake of huge proportions.”
Ukraine’s prosecutors have opened more than 178,000 investigations into suspected Russian crimes since the invasion began. A UN commission reported last month that Russian authorities had committed crimes against humanity through drone attacks on civilians and had carried out the war crimes of forcible transfer and deportation. Mr McGrath said: “We cannot give up on the rights of the victims of Russian aggression and Russian crimes. Millions of lives have been taken or destroyed, and people forcibly removed, and we have ample evidence.”
In July, Europe’s top human rights court delivered damning judgments against Russia, finding Moscow responsible for widespread violations of international law in Ukraine. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in four cases brought by Kyiv and the Netherlands, covering allegations of murder, torture, rape, destruction of civilian infrastructure and the kidnapping of children dating back more than a decade.
