Biden accuses Putin of ‘genocide’
The Kremlin said it was ‘unacceptable’ for US president to accuse Moscow’s troops of committing genocide in Ukraine
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden for the first time accused Russia of committing genocide in Ukraine, significantly escalating his condemnation of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Speaking at an event in Iowa on Tuesday laying out steps to lower fuel costs that have surged during the war, Biden described Russia’s actions in the conflict as a “genocide”. He later stood by his comments, but said lawyers would ultimately make the official determination.
“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,” the president told reporters. “The evidence is mounting.”
In a quick rebuttal, the Kremlin said on Wednesday it was “unacceptable” for US President Joe Biden to accuse Moscow’s troops of committing genocide in Ukraine, where Russia has been conducting a military campaign for nearly two months.
“We categorically disagree and consider unacceptable any attempt to distort the situation in this way, especially since it is hardly acceptable for the president of the United States,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
He added that the United States is a “country that has committed well-known deeds in modern and recent history”.
“True words of a true leader,” Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s President tweeted in reference to Biden following the president’s remarks on Tuesday. “Calling things by their names is essential to stand up to evil.”
Meanwhile, Zelensky and Biden discussed additional defensive and financial aid for Kyiv as well as sanctions and alleged Russian war crimes, the Ukrainian president said on Wednesday. US president also announced an additional $800 million in military assistance to Ukraine, bringing the total aid tally since Russian forces invaded to more than $2.4 billion.
‘1,000 Ukraine marines surrender in Mariupol’
More than 1,000 Ukrainian marines have surrendered in the port of Mariupol, Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday, signalling that it had moved closer to capturing the ruined city, its main strategic target in eastern Ukraine.
Russia’s defence ministry said 162 officers were among the marines who had surrendered to Russian and pro-russian separatist forces. “In the town of Mariupol, near the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works, as a result of successful offensives by Russian armed forces and Donetsk People’s Republic militia units, 1,026 Ukrainian soldiers of the 36th Marine Brigade voluntarily laid down arms and surrendered,” the ministry said.
On Monday, Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade said it was preparing for a final battle in Mariupol that would end in death or capture as its troops had run out of ammunition.
Meanwhile, war crimes prosecutors visiting the site of civilian killings called Ukraine a “crime scene” on Wednesday, as tens of thousands of Ukrainians fled their country in advance of a fresh assault to the east.
“Ukraine is a crime scene,” the ICC’S chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, told reporters in Bucha. The Haguebased court investigates and prosecutes war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. “We’re here because we have reasonable grounds to believe that crimes within the jurisdiction of the court are being committed,” said Khan.
Polish and Baltic presidents visit Ukraine
The Polish and Baltic presidents on Wednesday visited the Ukrainian town of Borodyanka not far from Kyiv, with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda saying it was “permeated with pain and suffering”.
“It is hard to believe that such war atrocities could be perpetrated in 21st-century Europe, but that is the reality. This is a war we must win,” Nauseda said in a statement.
“The place is permeated with pain and suffering. Civilian Ukrainians were murdered and tortured here, and residential homes and other civilian infrastructure were bombed.”
Poland had announced earlier that Nauseda and his fellow heads of state - Polish President Andrzej Duda, Estonia’s Alar Karis and Latvia’s Egils Levits had met in the Polish city of Rzeszow near the Ukraine border before boarding a train for Kyiv.
Zelensky: Russia using phosphorous bombs
Zelensky said on Wednesday in an address to Estonia’s parliament that Russia was using phosphorous bombs in Ukraine, accusing Moscow of using terror tactics against civilians.
Zelensky added that instruments needed to be found to pressure Russia to stop forcibly deporting Ukrainians and called for sanctions on Russia to continue, saying they were the only way to force it to agree to peace.
Meanwhile, seven civilians have been killed by Russian shelling in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine over the past 24 hours, the regional governor said on Wednesday.
“Twenty-two civilians, including three children, have been injured during shelling of the region. Seven people have died. A two-year-old boy injured by shelling a few days ago has died in hospital,” the governor, Oleg Synegubov, said on social media.
US treasury secretary talks tough on China
Treasury secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday delivered a pointed warning to China on its alignment with Russia, suggesting potential economic consequences from the international community depending on how it approaches President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“China has recently affirmed a special relationship with Russia,” Yellen said in a speech to the Atlantic Council. “I fervently hope that China will make something positive of this relationship and help to end this war.”
Attack on Ukraine