Joe Biden has referred to Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal” for his “barbaric” military tactics during the invasion of Ukraine.
Until now, the US government has avoided using the term to refer to Putin, although Vice President Kamala Harris said last week there should be an investigation into the possibility that Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine.
Shortly after the US president’s statements, the White House spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, pointed out that “He was speaking from the heart and in relation to what he has seen on television”. “And these are barbaric actions of a brutal dictator during his invasion of a foreign country,” he added during his daily press conference.
The spokeswoman has clarified that, for now, the State Department has not done a formal statement accusing Russia of having committed war crimes, and that the “legal” review on that issue “is still ongoing” at the headquarters of US diplomacy.
From the Kremlin they have branded these statements as “unacceptable and unforgivable rhetoric”, according to the Russian agency TASS.
The United States assured earlier this month that it is “documenting” the Russian attacks in Ukraine and their impact on the civilian population. to ensure that Russia is “held to account” if it is found to have committed war crimes.
Following the Russian attack on the Ukrainian atomic plant in Zaporizhia on March 4, the US embassy in Ukraine described the attack as a “war crime.” However, the White House avoided referring to what happened in those terms and the State Department asked its embassies around the world not to spread the tweet from the delegation in Ukraine that used those words.
Last week, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened a portal to contact witnesses, both from Ukraine and from other countries in which the court is investigating, who can provide evidence of war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Source: Lasexta
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