AG Garland is meeting with Ukraine's prosecutor general to discuss international efforts to prosecute people involved in war crimes.
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Tuesday, according to a Department of Justice spokesperson.
The attorney general, who first landed in Poland before traveling to Ukraine, was expected to make brief remarks to a small group of assembled journalists from U.S. and Ukrainian-based media outlets. The Justice Department said Garland announced the launch of a"War Crimes Accountability Team" that will be responsible for overseeing the administration's work to hold people accountable for war crimes in Ukraine. Garland named Eli Rosenbaum, a 36-year veteran of DOJ, to lead the team.
His visit comes after first lady Jill Biden visited Ukraine in early May. Two top Cabinet secretaries — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken — alsoPresident Joe Biden told reporters in Rehobeth Beach, Del., over the weekend that it wasn't likely that he would tack on a trip to Ukraine during his upcoming overseas travel to Europe and the Middle East.