The Trump administration has proposed significant budget cuts to programs investigating war crimes worldwide, including efforts to hold Russia accountable for its actions in Ukraine. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recommended terminating nearly two dozen such programs, affecting initiatives in Ukraine, Myanmar, Syria, Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Gambia. Several organizations, including Global Rights Compliance and Legal Action Worldwide, which document Russian war crimes in Ukraine, face potential closure. While the State Department can appeal the decision, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to support only a few key programs. The cuts come amid ongoing tensions over the U.S. role in supporting Ukraine’s war efforts and reflect broader cuts to foreign aid and media outlets.
The White House has recommended terminating U.S. funding for multiple programs that investigate war crimes worldwide, including Russian war crimes in Ukraine, Reuters reported on June 26. The Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on June 25 recommended canceling funds for nearly two dozen programs that investigate and seek accountability for war crimes, two U.S. sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The targeted programs include groups investigating Russian war crimes in Ukraine, as well as atrocities in Myanmar, Syria, Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Gambia.
Multiple programs designated for termination are operating in Ukraine, three sources told Reuters. One of the groups is Global Rights Compliance, which gathers evidence of Russian war crimes across the country, including torture and sexual violence, while another is Legal Action Worldwide, a legal aid organization that supports efforts to prosecute suspects accused of perpetrating war crimes in Ukraine. The State Department will have the opportunity to appeal the O, though two U.S. officials told Reuters that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is not likely to advocate for most of the programs.
Rubio could potentially argue to preserve a few key programs, such as those supporting the prosecution of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, one source said. According to an internal State Department email viewed by Reuters, the department has until July 11 to submit their arguments on behalf of preserving any of the targeted war crimes accountability programs.
The Trump administration’s funding cuts have already impacted humanitarian aid and civil society programs across Ukraine as the country faces its fourth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion. One of Trump’s first acts in his second term was to freeze all U.S. foreign assistance for 90 days. He then worked alongside former ally Elon Musk to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Among the defunded organizations is Ukraine Conflict Observatory, the leading U.S.-backed initiative documenting Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children, which will end its efforts to track and monitor illegally deported Ukrainian children as of July 1 due to funding cuts.
The White House also previously disbanded the U.S. Justice Department’s War Crimes Accountability Team and fired a coordinator responsible for collecting data on Russian war crimes in Ukraine. These actions have raised concerns about the U.S. government’s commitment to holding Russia accountable for its actions in Ukraine.