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UKRAINE CONFLICT: BIDEN BRANDS PUTIN A 'WAR CRIMINAL'

Published6 days ago
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 * Russia-Ukraine war

Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
Mr Putin and Mr Biden met at a 2021 summit in this file photo

US President Joe Biden has labelled Russian leader Vladimir Putin a "war
criminal" in a move likely to escalate diplomatic tensions even further.

Mr Biden delivered the remark off-the-cuff in response to a reporter's question
at the White House.

It is the first time he has used such language to condemn President Putin, and
the White House later said he was "speaking from his heart".

The Kremlin, however, said it was "unforgiveable rhetoric".

"We believe such rhetoric to be unacceptable and unforgivable on the part of the
head of a state, whose bombs have killed hundreds of thousands of people around
the world," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state news agency Tass.

The exchange in Washington happened Wednesday when a reporter asked the US
president: "Mr President, after everything we have seen, are you ready to call
Putin a war criminal?"



The President replied "no" before being challenged, and then changed his reply:
"Did you ask me whether I would tell ....? Oh, I think he is a war criminal."

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki later said the president had been speaking
from his heart after seeing "barbaric" images of the violence in Ukraine, rather
than making any official declaration.

She noted that there was a separate legal process, run by the State Department,
to determine war crimes - and that was ongoing separately.

 * What is a war crime, and could Putin be prosecuted over Ukraine?

The president's official Twitter account posted: "Putin is inflicting appalling
devastation and horror on Ukraine - bombing apartment buildings and maternity
wards... these are atrocities. It is an outrage to the world."




One by one, diplomatic bridges between the United States and Russia are being
set ablaze.

Mr Biden's statement was an odd one, albeit not out of keeping for a politician
who has a history of making monumental policy shifts in seemingly off-the-cuff
remarks (see, for instance, his comments on gay marriage in 2012).



After initially telling a reporter he did not think Mr Putin was a criminal, he
came back and reversed himself. If there had been an internal debate at the
White House over how to handle the growing calls in Congress and the press to
condemn Mr Putin in this way, the president settled it in an aside, not a
set-piece speech.

This, of course, will make it harder for Mr Biden and his administration to work
with the Russians going forward. Every concession or negotiated agreement, on
whatever topic, will invite the rejoinder: How can you associate with a
criminal?

Perhaps Mr Biden, in his comments, was simply acknowledging the new reality -
that the world's political order has irrevocably shifted, and there's no going
back to the way things were.



It came after a busy day of political theatre in both the US and Russia over
Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier gave a speech by video link to
the US Congress, receiving a standing ovation. Hours later, Mr Biden approved
additional weapons aid for Ukraine, bringing the total US contribution to $1bn
(£760m).

On the other side of the world, President Putin also gave a televised speech
laden with anti-Western rhetoric.



He accused the West of trying to divide Russia with lies, and railed against
those he called "traitors" inside of Russia.

"Of course they will try to bet on the so-called fifth column, on traitors - on
those who earn their money here, but live over there. Live, not in the
geographical sense, but in the sense of their thoughts, their slavish thinking,"
Mr Putin said.

The term "fifth column" is often used for a group that tries to undermine a
nation or organisation from the inside.

"Any people, and especially the Russian people, will always be able to
distinguish the true patriots from the scum and the traitors, and just to spit
them out like a fly that accidentally flew into their mouths," Mr Putin said.
Such a "self-purification" of society would strengthen Russia, he added.

Mr Putin also accused the West of trying to provoke civil conflict with the goal
of "the destruction of Russia".

His speech was greeted with concern by some Russia-watchers and journalists.

Tatiana Stanovaya, a political analyst, told the New York Times that Mr Putin
was signalling authorities across Russia to target "all spheres of society that
show any sympathy to the Western way of life".

Mikhail Kasyanov, a former Russian Prime Minister who also worked in Mr Putin's
first government before becoming one of his fiercest critics, tweeted that Mr
Putin "is intensifying his actions to destroy Russia".

He is "essentially announcing the start of mass repressions against those who
don't agree with the regime," Mr Kasyanov wrote. "This has happened in our
history before, and not only ours."




WAR IN UKRAINE: MORE COVERAGE

 * LIVE: Latest updates from Ukraine and nearby
 * WATCH: Kyiv residents record life under siege
 * ANALYSIS: Putin will search for a way to save face
 * BUSINESS: The Western brands unable to leave Russia
 * IN DEPTH: Full coverage of the conflict




MORE ON THIS STORY

 * Zelensky invokes 9/11 in plea to US Congress
   
   6 days ago
   

 * John Simpson: Putin will search for a way to save face
   
   7 days ago
   

 * Will Russia be able to pay its debts?
   
   5 days ago
   

 * Russian-occupied city stays angry and defiant
   
   6 days ago
   


RELATED TOPICS

 * Russia-Ukraine war
 * Russia
 * Vladimir Putin
 * United States
 * Joe Biden





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