This is why Biden’s decision to provide evidence of Russian war crimes is important

President Joe Biden signaled a major shift in American policy concerning Russia’s war in Ukraine after he ordered the U.S. government to begin sharing what evidence it had concerning war crimes to the International Criminal Court. But what does this mean?

The move to share Russian war crimes with the International Criminal Court (ICC) could have larger implications for the United States and the New York Times noted in a report on the move that the Pentagon has been resisting over how it could affect U.S. troops. 

Going after Russian war criminals could leave the door open for American troops to be investigated and prosecuted by the court according to one official that spoke with The New York Times, a situation that could prove disastrous for Biden in the long run.

The reasons why Biden chose to start sharing information about Russian war crimes now are not known but it does signal a major policy shift, even if the new change was not publicly announced. Reuters noted Biden started notifying lawmakers on July 25th.

"Since the beginning of Russia’s assault on Ukraine, the president has been clear: there needs to be accountability for the perpetrators and enablers of war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine," a National Security Council spokesperson said.

"On the ICC specifically, we are not going to discuss the specifics on any cooperation, which is consistent with the court’s practice of treating requests for cooperation in a confidential manner," the spokesperson added.

The United States is not a member of the ICC and therefore isn’t subject to the court’s jurisdiction according to Politico, which noted that Washington has always feared that an ICC prosecutor could someday try U.S. troops—a bipartisan position held since 1998. 

However, the war in Ukraine has changed the reality for some American lawmakers and Biden himself promised to help Kyiv hold Russia accountable for the war crimes that its soldiers committed in the country. But what evidence does the U.S. have of war crimes?

The New York Times noted that American intelligence agencies have details pertaining to decisions by Russian officials to strike civilian infrastructure as well as evidence that Russia was forcibly deporting Ukrainian children, some of which was shared with Kyiv.

However, nothing has been shared with the ICC and some American lawmakers have accused Biden and the Pentagon of hindering efforts to hold Russia accountable for the crimes committed since Vladimir Putin ordered Ukraine’s invasion in February 2022. 

Senators Richard Durbin and Lindsey Graham have repeatedly called out the federal government and worked to bring attention to the issue. Both men praised Biden and his administration for the shift in policy in a statement quoted by The New York Times. 

“Ensuring that the United States is doing all that it can to hold the perpetrators of atrocities in Ukraine accountable is essential to help our Ukrainian friends and to send a clear message to Putin… will not tolerate these horrific crimes,” the statement read.

“After pressing the administration for months, we are pleased that the administration is finally supporting the I.C.C.’s investigation.” the lawmakers continued. 

However, despite the nod from Biden, Pentagon officials are still worried about how this could affect American troops and The New York Times noted they were opposed to the move and wanted Biden to stand firm with the positions of previous administrations. 

In March, a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrest was issued by the ICC over his role in the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia according to NBC News. The Kremlin responded by noting Russia didn’t recognize the ICC’s authority. 

“We do not recognize this court. We do not recognize the jurisdiction of this court. This is how we treat this,” explained Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov. Even if Russia doesn’t recognize the ICC, the warrant has stopped Putin from traveling abroad on some occasions.