NewsNationalRussia-Ukraine-Conflict

Actions

Biden calls Russian leader Vladimir Putin 'a war criminal'

Joe Biden
Posted at 2:29 PM, Mar 16, 2022
and last updated 2022-03-16 15:29:34-04

President Joe Biden has called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal as the atrocities in Ukraine mount and the president there is begging the U.S. Congress for more help.

"He's a war criminal," the president said of Putin as he left an unrelated event. It's the sharpest condemnation yet of Putin and Russian actions by a U.S. official since the invasion of Ukraine. While other world leaders have used the words, the White House had been hesitant to declare Putin's actions those of a war criminal, saying it was a legal term that required research.

But in a speech Wednesday, Biden said Russian troops had bombed hospitals and held doctors hostage.