[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 48 (Thursday, March 17, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H3782-H3783]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
                    RUSSIA IS COMMITTING WAR CRIMES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Espaillat) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, yesterday, the House of Representatives 
heard from Ukrainian President Zelenskyy as he painted a haunting 
picture of pain inflicted on the Ukrainian people and the war crimes 
being waged on Ukrainians trying to keep themselves and their families 
safe.
  It is clear, Madam Speaker, that Vladimir Putin has committed war 
crimes by violating international norms, including the Geneva 
Convention, in his violent and bloody war of conquest on Ukraine.
  I, along with Congressman   David Cicilline, have introduced a war 
crimes resolution, H. Res. 964, calling on the global community to hold 
Vladimir Putin and the Russian Government accountable for these war 
crimes.
  Russian forces have used explosive weapons with wide-range effects 
near schools and populated areas, hitting them with missiles, rockets, 
and heavy artillery. It is clearly a violation of the Geneva Convention 
to target civilian and cultural sites.
  On March 1, a Russian airstrike hit Freedom Square in Kharkiv, 
killing civilians and injuring dozens of innocent people.
  On March 1, a Russian missile hit the location of the Babyn Yar 
Holocaust Memorial site, a place where thousands of Jewish people were 
killed between 1941 and 1943.
  On March 3, 47 civilians were killed when Russia hit two schools and 
apartment buildings, injuring countless others. This is clearly a 
violation of the Geneva Convention.
  We have also witnessed the attack of medical units. On March 9, 
Russian forces bombed a maternity and children's hospital in the city 
of Mariupol. The world watched as a pregnant woman was being carried 
lifeless from the hospital wreckage on a stretcher. Both she and her 
child passed away.
  The World Health Organization has also confirmed several attacks on 
healthcare centers in Ukraine, causing countless deaths and injuries.
  It is clearly a violation of the Geneva Convention to target nuclear 
facilities. On March 3, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy accused Russian 
forces of nuclear terror as Russian tanks shot at the nuclear blocks at 
a nuclear power station in Ukraine.
  More than 3 million people are now refugees who have fled Ukraine, 
Madam Speaker. Each day in Ukraine, more than 70,000 children have 
become refugees. That accounts for 55 children fleeing the country 
every minute.
  There have been over 2,000 civilian casualties in the country, and 
thousands upon thousands of people have

[[Page H3783]]

been injured. Yesterday, the International Court of Justice 
overwhelmingly found that Russia must immediately suspend its unlawful 
military invasion of Ukraine.
  It is clear, Madam Speaker, that Vladimir Putin and the Russian 
Government have committed war crimes. They have invaded a sovereign 
nation and are attacking the very core of liberty and democracy. We 
must hold them accountable and do all we can to support the brave 
Ukrainians fighting for their freedom.

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