Rep. McCaul Says He’s Witnessed Evidence of Russian Executions, Torture, and Rape, During Ukraine Visit

A man pushes his bike through debris and destroyed Russian military vehicles on a street in Bucha, Ukraine, on April 6, 2022. TNS

A Republican delegation to Ukraine witnessed evidence that Russian soldiers are engaging in crimes against humanity including summary executions, torture, and rape, according to Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas).

Russian troops are conducting crimes en masse and concealing the evidence by burning the bodies of those abused, according to McCaul, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee and is currently leading the delegation.

“We just came back from Bucha to see the war crimes that took place in violation of the Geneva Convention[s],” McCaul said during a Feb. 21 press conference after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“Innocent civilians killed by these criminals, these Russian soldiers. Hands tied behind their back and shot in the head, women and children raped, people tortured, and mobile crematoriums to destroy the evidence.”

McCaul vowed that Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his regime would be brought to justice for the crimes.

“These crimes will not stand and we will bring justice,” McCaul said.

“America stands with Ukraine in its fight for freedom and democracy, the values that we as Americans hold so true and hold so dear to our hearts.”

The United States has asserted that Russia is engaged in crimes against humanity in Ukraine since March of last year.

McCaul’s remarks closely echoed those of Vice President Kamala Harris, who officially restated the White House’s position earlier this month.

“The United States has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity, and I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes, and to their superiors, who are complicit in these crimes, you will be held to account,” Harris said.

Ukraine Seeks Weapons it ‘Needs to Win’

McCaul’s delegation to Ukraine closely coincided with a surprise visit to Kyiv by President Joe Biden, who is slated to deliver a speech in Poland on the state of the war and the international order’s commitment to Ukraine.

The Congressman’s remarks appeared to primarily reference the widely-known massacre in Bucha, where Russian soldiers killed more than 400 people including civilians and children in 2022.

Russia was suspended from the UN Human Rights Council for its crimes in Bucha and elsewhere, becoming the second nation to have its membership rights revoked at the council, after Libya in 2011.

Moscow is currently amassing troops and materiel for a spring offensive into Ukraine, and is reportedly seeking to annex both Moldova and Belarus into Russia.

To that end, McCaul said that the United States and its NATO allies were strongly committed to one another and the defense of Ukraine.

“I can tell you there is a broad, bipartisan support between the United States and our NATO and European allies to support Ukraine against Russian aggression,” McCaul said.

McCaul said that the delegation visited a location where weapons are brought into Ukraine from the international community and noted that controls and safeguards had been put in place to track funds and arms.

He added that the delegation spoke to Zelenskyy about what types of arms Ukraine would require in the coming months and said the United States should furnish the country with more long-range artillery capabilities and air to surface systems such as the F-16.

“We talked primarily about what his needs are when it comes to winning this war,” McCaul said of the discussion. “And he is providing this delegation with the list of the weapons the Ukraine needs to win.”