U.S. launches conflict monitor for Russian war on Ukraine

The United States has established a new conflict monitoring body which will be used to build legal cases against Russia for crimes committed during its war on Ukraine.

The Conflict Observatory will "ensure that crimes committed by Russia's forces are documented and perpetrators are held accountable," State Department spokesman Ned Price said as he announced the creation of the body on Tuesday.

"The program will capture, analyze, and make publicly available open-source information and evidence of atrocities, human rights abuses, and harm to civilian infrastructure, including Ukraine's cultural heritage," he said.

Reports will be posted on ConflictObservatory.org.

Price said the observatory was a collaboration between scientists and the private sector.

The goal is to contribute to eventual prosecutions in Ukraine's domestic courts, courts in third-party countries, U.S. courts, and other tribunals, he said.

It will also provide information refuting Russian disinformation campaigns.