U.S. Withdraws from International Investigative Group on Ukraine
The Justice Department has quietly notified European officials that the United States is pulling out from a multinational collective designed to probe leaders responsible for the Ukraine invasion, including Vladimir V. Putin, President of Russia, according to sources familiar with the matter.
This decision to exit the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine—a commitment initially made under the Biden administration in 2023—signals a shift in the U.S. stance under the Trump administration. This shift moves away from former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.‘s dedication to holding Mr. Putin accountable for offenses against Ukrainians.
Established to hold the leadership of Russia, alongside allies in Belarus, North Korea, and Iran, liable for crimes categorized as aggression under international law—defined as violations of another nation’s sovereignty not initiated in self-defense—the group served a pivotal role in international justice.
The withdrawal, according to those informed, is anticipated to be formally communicated on Monday via email to the staff and members of its parent organization, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, commonly known as Eurojust.
The U.S. was the sole non-European nation collaborating with the group, dispatching a senior Justice Department prosecutor to The Hague to work alongside investigators from Ukraine, the Baltic States, and Romania.
A department spokesperson did not respond to requests for comments on Sunday night. Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine had a tense discussion with President Trump last month in the Oval Office.
