EU commissioner says Putin cannot be pardoned for war crimes in Ukraine

Any move to “wipe the slate clean” for Russia in a peace deal would be “a historic mistake of huge proportions,” EU Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath told Politico.

Donald Trump’s drive to secure peace in Ukraine must not let Putin off the hook for war crimes committed by Russian forces, McGrath stated.

He said negotiators must ensure the push for a ceasefire does not result in Russia escaping prosecution.

His comments reflect concerns widely held in European capitals that the original American blueprint for a deal included the promise of a “full amnesty for actions committed during the war,” alongside plans to reintegrate Russia into the world economy.

“I don’t think history will judge kindly any effort to wipe the slate clean for Russian crimes in Ukraine,” McGrath said. “They must be held accountable for those crimes and that will be the approach of the European Union in all of these discussions.

“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,” he said, adding that “millions of lives have been taken or destroyed, and people forcibly removed, and we have ample evidence.”