Biden said of Putin on Monday, “This guy is brutal and what’s happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyone has seen it.” He told reporters, “I think it is a war crime.” He called for a war crimes trial while saying “we have to gather all the details” to be able to have one, AFP reports.
Biden further affirmed, “I am seeking more sanctions” – but didn’t get into specifics, after EU officials have said they are in discussions for rolling out new penalties on Moscow. Some top German officials are even calling for banning Russian natural gas.
“He should be held accountable,” Biden said further of Putin, suggesting the US will seek a formal charge for Putin at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Hill reports that the administration is still collecting evidence:
Biden reiterated his characterization of Putin as a “war criminal” on Monday but said more evidence needed to be collected so a war crimes case can be tried. The International Criminal Court has launched an investigated into whether Russia committed war crimes in Ukraine.
The State Department already formally accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine by deliberately targeting civilians, including in strikes on a maternity hospital and theater that was being used as a shelter in Mariupol.
Meanwhile, Epoch Times reported:
The United States moved to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council as the State Department also announced it would collect evidence of war crimes that were allegedly committed in Ukraine.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Monday that “European countries and other partners at the UN, we are going to seek Russia’s suspension from the UN Human Rights Council” following accusations that Russian forces massacred Ukrainian civilians in Bucha, located near Kyiv, over the past weekend.
Russian officials have denied that its forces carried out mass executions, alleging that video footage and photos released by Ukrainian officials were staged to create a provocation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday said that such claims need to be investigated first.
Details provided by Ukrainian officials “should be subject to serious skepticism,” Peskov said, according to state-run media. Russian military officials, he further claimed, discovered evidence of video manipulation in connection to the Bucha incient.
“The facts and the timeline likewise speak against the veracity of the claims,” Peskov said.
