(RoyalPatriot.com )- Last week, President Biden told Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich that he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal. And on Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that he “personally” agrees with Biden.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, US officials have been reticent to use the term “war criminal” to describe Putin, opting instead to call for Putin and Russia to be investigated for possible war crimes.
In a press conference on Thursday condemning the recent Russian bombing of the theater in Mariupol, Blinken pointed out that similar tactics were used by Russian troops in Aleppo where they “stepped up bombardment” to break the “will of the people.”
He noted President Biden’s comments to Heinrich and added, “Personally, I agree.” He said that Russia “intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime.”
.@SecBlinken on President Biden's comments that Putin is a "war criminal":
"Personally, I agree. Intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime." pic.twitter.com/L2vAThnAA0
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 17, 2022
After President Biden accused Putin of being a war criminal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Biden’s comments were “unacceptable and unforgivable.”
Last Tuesday, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution urging the International Criminal Court in The Hague to launch an investigation into possible war crimes committed by the Russian military during the invasion of Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Jen Psaki told reporters that the State Department had initiated the process to officially designate Putin a war criminal.
