Biden accuses Russia of ‘genocide’ as Zelensky mocks Kremlin’s ‘noble’ war
President Joe Biden has accused Vladimir Putin and Russia of committing genocide in Ukraine.
This comes amid claims Russia has deliberately targeted civilians and has used chemical weapons. The Kremlin has also been accused of committing massacres in towns such as Bucha and Irpin.
The President said he would use the label 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,” he said as he prepared to board Air Force One on Tuesday.
He has previously called Putin a war criminal, but added on genocide: “We’ll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me.”
Earlier this week, Ukraine’s president Vloydymyr Zelensky mocked the Russian leader for saying the war was going well.
Putin said Moscow would achieve all its “noble” goals, despite 20,000 troops reportedly having been killed, even though the Kremlin claims its only 1,350.
Zelensky said according to Reuters: “In Russia it was once again said that their so-called ‘special operation’ is supposedly going according to plan. But, to be honest, no one in the world understands how such a plan could even come about,” Zelenskiy said in a video address.
He said not all Russian forces were hopeless and using outdated technology, and many were conscripts, but “this does not mean that we should be afraid of them. This means that we must not diminish the accomplishments of our fighters, our army.”