Burgess leads bipartisan effort to ensure Putin is held liable for War Crimes

Statement

Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) was joined by over 40 fellow Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle in calling on the International Criminal Court to immediately prosecute Russian President Vladimir Putin should anything happen to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy caused by Russian action.

"Putin has continually proven that he will not play by the rules," said Burgess. "President Zelenskyy has inspired his nation and the world by standing up and fighting against Putin's criminal invasion of Ukraine. President Zelenskyy and Ukraine's democratically elected government are a threat to Putin's imperialist desire to bring back the borders of the Soviet Union. He has made it very clear that he does not view Ukraine as a sovereign nation, but a vassal under Russian authority. And history has shown that Putin will stop at nothing to silence his opposition. Therefore, should any harm befall President Zelenskyy, we stand united in calling for justice. Putin is nothing but a Russian thug, and we must support freedom for the Ukrainian people."

"Putin is unleashing terror on freedom-loving Ukrainians, and committing war crimes against women, children, and the elderly," said the Congressional Ukraine Caucus Co-Chair Marcy Kaptur (D-OH). "Ukraine's military and her people are fighting for their lives and sovereignty as President Zelenskyy leads the nation in a valiant struggle reminiscent of David versus Goliath. The great wars of the 20th century taught us that the preservation of freedom is a global imperative -- and Ukraine's battle for Liberty is the world's battle for Liberty. All leaders of the world must come to the defense of Ukraine, and the International Criminal Court must prosecute Putin for his murderous rampage."

Background:
During the Orange Revolution, Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yuschenko was poisoned by Russian adversaries. Other poisoning victims include Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2004, former Russian security FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko in 2006, former Russian FSB officer Sergey Skripal in 2018, and Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny in 2020.

On February 25th, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenksyy stated, "According to the information we have, the enemy has marked me as target No. 1, my family as target No. 2. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state."

It is clear that Putin intends to remove or kill a democratically elected head of state. This resolution calls on the International Criminal Court to immediately prosecute President Putin should any harm befall President Zelenskyy as a result of actions taken or directed by any Russian entity or authority.

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