US declares Russia committed 'crimes against humanity' in Ukraine: Harris

The Biden administration formally concluded that Russia has committed "crimes against humanity" during its nearly year-long attack on Ukraine, US Vice-President Kamala Harris said on Saturday.

"In the case of Russia's actions in Ukraine we have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, and there is no doubt: these are crimes against humanity," Harris, a former prosecutor, said in prepared remarks being delivered in a speech at the Munich Security Conference.

"And I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes, and to their superiors who are complicit in those crimes, you will be held to account."

The official determination, which came at the end of a legal and factual analysis led by the US State Department, carries with it no immediate consequences for the ongoing war.

But Washington hopes that it could help further isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin and galvanise legal efforts to hold members of his government accountable through international courts and sanctions.

Harris' speech comes as senior Western leaders met in Munich to assess the Europe's worst conflict since World War Two.

She said Russia was now a "weakened" country after Biden led a coalition to punish Putin for the attack, but Russia is only intensifying assaults in Ukraine's east. Meanwhile, Ukraine is planning a spring counteroffensive, for which it is seeking more, heavier and longer-range weapons from its Western allies.

The nearly year-long war has killed tens of thousands, uprooted millions from their homes, pummelled the global economy and made Putin a pariah in the West.

Washington had already concluded that Russian forces were guilty of war crimes as has a UN-mandated investigation, but the Biden administration conclusion that Russia's actions amount to "crimes against humanity" implies a legal analysis that acts from murder to rape are widespread, systematic and intentionally directed against civilians. In international law, it is seen as a more serious offence.

The UN-backed Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has not yet concluded that the war crimes it says it has identified amount to crimes against humanity.

But the Biden administration's ability to enforce any such efforts beyond its borders - and certainly within Russia - is limited. Collecting evidence in the war-torn country, too, has proven difficult.