Ukraine fights to hold Bakhmut as U.S. accuses Russia of crimes against humanity

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• John Yang:

  Good evening. I'm John Yang. It's been nearly a year since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and today, for the first time, the United States labeled Russia's actions there as crimes against humanity. The war stands at a crossroads. Both Moscow and Kyiv hope to gain momentum in the coming weeks. Nick Schifrin is in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, near the front line. Nick's reporting in. Ukraine is supported by the Pulitzer Center.

• Nick Schifrin:

  1100 miles from the front, Vice President Harris today detailed Russian crimes and called for accountability.

• Kamala Harris:

  Russian forces have pursued a widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population, gruesome acts of murder, torture, rape, and deportation.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Among her examples of crimes against humanity, a Russian strike on a Mariupol theater that killed hundreds of women and children as they hid. And the Russian massacre and mass graves of Bucha. Ukraine has gone a step further and accused Russia of genocide. That was a word repeated today in Munich by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who also predicted the west would go further than it's been willing on weapons and send jets.

• Dmytro Kuleba, Foreign Minister, Ukraine:

  I will take a risk by saying that Ukraine will receive planes. It's a matter of time and procedure.

• Nick Schifrin:

  But that's time Ukrainian soldiers don't have. They're barely holding Bakhmut, the epicenter of the fighting. Much of the city has been abandoned or destroyed, and Russians are closing in on three sides.

• No Name Given (through translator):

  I don't have any emotions in this war. I treat it as my job. For me to execute a shot is the same as sending a piece of mail. There are no emotions whatsoever.

• Nick Schifrin:

  And that's the sense from all the soldiers I speak to. Whenever I ask them if they've lost men, they've lost friends, they each tear up and ask me to change the subject. War is overwhelming in so many ways, but these soldiers out here know they don't have time to mourn. John, the fact is that the fiercest fighting may be yet to come.

• John Yang:

  Nick, I want to go back to whether you started in the tape with Vice President Harris's announcement about the crimes against humanity. Are there practical effects of this declaration?

• Nick Schifrin:

  It's such a great question, because the question is how to hold Russia accountable for the crimes against humanity. The problem is, that the U.S. and Ukraine don't agree on the answer to that question. Ukraine consistently demands the creation of what's called the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression. That's likely the easiest way to try Russian leaders, and Putin put it in himself, but the U.S. is not on board with that. Another option is to create a hybrid court with Ukrainian prosecutors the U.S. hasn't publicly supported that either. A third option is kind of a halfway step. Create an interim prosecutor to prepare for a future crime of aggression trial. The U.S. is more likely to support that step. So far, publicly, the only body the U.S. supports is the ICC, because they say they don't want to dilute the ICC's work. But, John, the ICC has not launched a single indictment. And so the process of how to hold Russia accountable, let alone actually holding Russia accountable, is still many months, if not years away.

• John Yang:

  And, Nick, to get back to things on the ground, this is your fourth visit to Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion. What does it look like now? What are the front lines look like now?

• Nick Schifrin:

  The front lines are very active, much more so even than a few months ago, especially here in Donetsk Province. That is where U.S. and Ukrainian officials believe that the kremlin is focused, trying, at least in the short term, to seize the entire province. And this Russian offensive looks like much of the previous Russian offensive, largely focused on artillery around the city of Bakhmut, where U.S. officials now say the private military company Wagner has suffered 30,000 casualties. But the front extends 50 miles north and south. So, Ukraine will have to hold off that Russian wave while also preparing to launch its own counterattack. That will probably have to wait for some Western armored vehicles that the U.S. certainly hopes arrives in the next few weeks. And the U.S. and Ukraine admit that what happens on this front over the next few months, both the Russian offensive and the Ukrainian counter offensive, will help determine the fate of the war.

• John Yang:

  And, of course, we're coming up on the first year anniversary of this full scale invasion. Is the United States planning anything or doing anything to market?

• Nick Schifrin:

  The highlight will be President Biden's trip to Poland next week. He's going to be there to meet Eastern European allies, give us big speech on Tuesday night, which U.S. officials say he will promise to continue U.S. support for Ukraine and to hold Russia accountable. At the U.N., there'll be a two-day special assembly session. Again, discussions of how to hold Russia accountable and how to rally behind Ukraine.

  But, John, the concerns here are what Russia plans for the one-year anniversary. Putin gives a big speech on Tuesday, and those Russian forces are trying to make progress, clearly just a few miles from here ahead of that date. John.

• John Yang:

  Nick Schifrin in Ukraine. Nick, to you, cameraman Eric O'Connor and your entire team, please stay safe.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Thanks, John.