US diplomacy announced yesterday the creation of a "war crimes watchdog" in Ukraine, which will have an initial six million dollars at its disposal to gather, analyze and widely publicize evidence of the war crimes that Washington accuses Russia of committing in the conflict.
The new initiative aims to "archive information" from public, open sources and satellite data, adhering to "international norms" so that any process to hold accountable those responsible for "atrocities" can be fed with evidence, the State Department said in a press release.
"An online platform will share War Watch's documentation with the public to help counter Russia's disinformation efforts," the US State Department added.
Also the US is considering blocking Moscow's ability to pay US investors holding Russian government bonds after the deadline next week, according to a US government official.
According to Bloomberg, the Biden administration is ready to make this move that could bring Russia closer to the brink of default. "It's under consideration," the same official, who was not named, admitted to Reuters, adding that the U.S. government is "looking at all options to increase pressure on Putin."
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control is not expected to renew the exemption, under sanctions against Moscow, for paying foreign bondholders. The exemption is valid until May 25 and, according to Bloomberg, will not be renewed.
Western sanctions prohibit transactions with Russia's Treasury, central bank and National Wealth Fund. However, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control had granted a temporary exemption for bondholders.
[/P]After that exemption expires on May 25, Russia will still have nearly $2 billion in bond payments through the end of the year. The US Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
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