President Joe Biden called for a war crimes trial against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Biden, upon landing in Washington, D.C., told reporters Monday that he stands by a past declaration that Putin is “a war criminal.” The president first made this comment March 16, just days before the U.S. would announce its assessment “that members of Russia’s forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine.”
“You may remember I got criticized for calling Putin a war criminal. Well, the truth of the matter – we saw it happen in Bucha – this warrants him – he [Putin] is a war criminal,” Biden said Monday morning.
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The president went on to note that the administration has to “gather the information” in order to go forward with a war crimes trial. He referenced recently reported scenes from areas of Ukraine controlled by Russian forces before their withdrawal, including mass graves reported in Bucha.
“But we have to gather the information. We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue to fight, and we have to get all the detail so this could be – actual have a war crimes trial. This guy is brutal, and what’s happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyone’s seen it,” Biden said.
Over the weekend, the Russian army retreated from the suburbs of Kyiv and other areas of Ukraine. With their retreat came reports of massacres, with hundreds left dead.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the aftermath a “genocide” during an interview Sunday on CBS News. (RELATED: Republicans Call Russian Invasion Of Ukraine ‘Genocide,’ Urge Biden To Amp Up Arms Sharing)
“This is about the destruction and extermination of all these nationalities. We are the citizens of Ukraine, and we don’t want to be subdued to the policy of the Russian Federation. This is the reason we are being destroyed and exterminated, and this is happening in the Europe of the 21st century. So this is the torture of the whole nation,” Zelenskyy said.
Biden, however, said he didn’t believe the actions were “genocide” when pressed on the subject Monday morning.
“No, I think it is a war crime,” Biden said.