Attorney General Merrick Garland made an unexpected trip to Lviv, Ukraine, on Friday to stand with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the “United for Justice” conference, according to a Justice Department official.
Garland’s surprise trip was not publicly announced for security reasons, the unnamed official told Politico.
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“The attorney general held several meetings and reaffirmed our determination to hold Russia accountable for crimes committed in its unjust and unprovoked invasion against its sovereign neighbor,” the official said.
Zelensky invited Garland and other international partners to the United for Justice press conference, where Garland signed an agreement to share information about atrocities Russia has committed during the war.
“The perpetrators of those crimes will not get away with it,” Garland said in remarks. “War criminals will find no refuge in the United States.”
Congress recently granted the Justice Department power to bring other war criminals from around the world to justice, as long as they are living or staying inside America’s borders.
The visit comes just after the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and weeks after President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to the war-torn country. Biden’s trip was also announced due to safety concerns. The attorney general is the second cabinet member to visit Ukraine, with Treasurey Secretary Janet Yellen meeting Zelensky on Monday.
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“Over the past year, the Ukrainian people have shown the world what courage looks like,” Garland said in a statement last month. “And for as long as it takes, the Department of Justice will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our Ukrainian and international partners in defense of justice and the rule of law.”
Garland’s last visit to the country in June 2022, just months after the fighting began, was also unannounced.
