Biden accuses Russia of genocide, says Putin trying to ‘wipe out’ Ukraine
Global News
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time on Tuesday that Russia's invasion of Ukraine amounts to genocide, a significant escalation of the president’s rhetoric.
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time on Tuesday that Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine amounts to genocide, a significant escalation of the president’s rhetoric.
Biden used the term genocide in a speech at an ethanol plant in Iowa and later stood by the description as he prepared to board Air Force One.
“Yes, I called it genocide because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of being able to be Ukrainian and the evidence is mounting,” Biden told reporters.
He added: “We’ll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me.”
Biden has repeatedly called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal, but Tuesday marked the first time he accused Russia of committing genocide in Ukraine.
“Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide a half a world away,” Biden said at an event in Iowa on fuel prices.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan have both stopped short of describing Russia’s assault as a genocide in recent days.
“Based on what we have seen so far, we have seen atrocities,” Sullivan told reporters last week. “We have seen war crimes. We have not seen a level of systematic deprivation of life of the Ukrainian people to rise to the level of genocide.”
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