Alghadeer TV Alghadeer TV
Russia has slammed US President Joe Biden for calling Russian leader Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” over the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, denouncing the comment as “unacceptable and unforgivable.”
“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,” Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
According to Press TV, earlier in the day, Biden called his Russian counterpart a “war criminal” as he spoke to a group of reporters at the White House, marking the first time any US official has used the term to characterize Putin since Moscow attacked Ukraine three weeks ago.
Asked whether Putin is a “war criminal,” the US president initially said no and walked away, but then returned to the members of the press and, when the question was repeated, he responded, “Oh, I think he is a war criminal,” without elaborating.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki later said Biden was “speaking from the heart” rather than making any official declaration, adding that a legal review was underway by the State Department to determine whether Russia’s actions in Ukraine constituted war crimes.
Biden also announced an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine to fight Russia, with the new package including drones, anti-armor, and anti-aircraft systems. “More will be coming as we source additional stocks of equipment that… we are ready to transfer,” he said.
On February 24, the Russian president ordered a “special military operation” in Ukraine. The conflict has provoked a unanimous response from Western countries, which have imposed a long list of sanctions on Moscow.
Russia has said it will halt the military operations instantly if Kiev meets certain demands, including that Ukraine never join NATO.
