In his harshest rebuke since the invasion of Ukraine began over three weeks ago, President Joe Biden has called Vladimir Putin a “war criminal.”
Biden made his remarks just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s impassions plea to Congress for more assistance in the fight against Russian forces invading his country.
The president had initially said “no” when asked by Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich if he considers Putin a war criminal but circled back about 30 seconds later and said, “Did you ask me whether I would call… Oh, I, I think he is a war criminal.”
Earlier in the day, Biden condemned Russia’s invasion and said the US is sending more weapons to Ukraine, including anti-aircraft, anti-armor weapons, body armor, guns, and drones.
Biden has had some harsh words for Putin since the unprovoked invasion of neighboring Ukraine, but this was the first time Biden has publicly branded Putin with the words “war criminal. And it came after Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., earlier the same day said Biden “absolutely” should call Putin a war criminal.
Kelly cited Russia’s attacks on “hospitals, maternity wards, apartment buildings” in Ukraine and its military’s “direct fire on civilians.”
However, White House press secretary Jen Psaki later said Biden was speaking from his heart about what he has seen on the news about the “barbaric actions by a brutal dictator.”
Psaki noted that there is a separate legal process to determine whether Putin has violated international law and committed war crimes. That process is currently underway at the State Department, she said.
Until his reply to the Fox reporter, Biden had resisted calling the Russian President a war criminal, even as multiple lawmakers called for Putin to be investigated for war crimes.
On Tuesday evening, the US Senate unanimously approved a measure to investigate Putin and other Russian officials for “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity.”
Russian forces have also been accused of using cluster munitions and vacuum bombs in the war, which violate international law.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in response to Biden, said, “We consider unacceptable and unforgivable such rhetoric of the head of the state, whose bombs killed hundreds of thousands of people around the world,” according to the Russian news agency Tass.
The United Nations on Tuesday said that since Feb. 24, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, nearly 700 civilians have been killed, with more than 1,140 civilians injured.
Yes he is a war criminal. But Bidumb is also a criminal along with Clinton, Pelosi, Mad Maxine, Schumer, Obama and the whole demonrat party!
No money for 39 states that get hit by natural disaster’s, but we got plenty of money for foreigner’s, another example of democrats building back better, so sick. 86/46
Given the non-existence of criteria for what a “war criminal” is, can we assume that most of the presidents over the past 246 years of American history have been considered to be “war criminals” by, at least, some other country?
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