Biden: Putin should face war crimes trial for Bucha killings

“You saw what happened butchBiden said. He said Putin is “a war criminal.”

came after Biden’s remarks to reporters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky One of the cities around Kyiv visited Buka, where Ukrainian officials say bodies of civilians have been found. Zelensky called the Russian actions “genocide” and called on the West to impose tougher sanctions against Russia.

Biden, however, refrained from calling the action a genocide.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova said bodies of 410 civilians had been removed from towns in the Kyiv region that were recently withdrawn from the Russian military. Associated Press reporters saw bodies of at least 21 people in various nearby locations butchnorthwest of the capital.

“We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to keep fighting. And we have to gather all the details so that it can be a real – war crime trial,” Biden said.

Biden attacked Putin as “brutal”.

“What is happening at Bucha is outrageous and everyone sees it,” Biden said.

White House officials said that talk of imposing new sanctions against Russia has intensified after reports of alleged atrocities surfaced. Biden said on Monday he would continue to add sanctions, but did not say which areas the US might target next.

After unveiling an avalanche of sanctions in the first weeks of the war, administration officials in recent days have focused more on closing loopholes that Russia may try to use to evade sanctions.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted on Monday that she would send investigators to Ukraine to help the EU local prosecutor general “document war crimes”.

A Russian law enforcement agency says it has launched its own investigation into allegations that Ukrainian civilians were massacred in the Kyiv suburbs, organized by Russian soldiers, who “false information” about the Russian military. it is said.

The investigative committee claims that the Ukrainian authorities made the allegations “with the aim of defaming Russian troops” and that those involved should be investigated over possible violations of a new Russian law that allows the government to misinform its forces. as prohibited.

Biden noted that he faced backlash last month when he described Putin as a war criminal for the attack that unfolded in Ukraine after the bombing of hospitals and maternity wards. In his remarks on Monday, Biden clarified that the label still applies.

“This man is cruel and what is happening to Buka is disgraceful, and everyone has seen it,” Biden said.

The investigation into Putin’s actions came before fresh allegations of atrocities outside Kyiv.

The United States and more than 40 other countries are working together to investigate potential violations and abuses, following the UN Human Rights Council’s passage of a resolution setting up a commission of inquiry. Another investigation is being conducted by the International Criminal Court, an independent body based in the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, Biden’s chief envoy to the United Nations, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, announced on Monday that the US plans to suspend Russia from its seat at the UN’s top human rights body, in the wake of more hints at the Russian military. may have committed war crimes in Ukraine. This would require a decision of the United Nations General Assembly.

Russia and the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council – Britain, China, France and the United States – all currently have seats in the 47-member Council of State Rights, which is based in Geneva. The United States rejoined the Council this year.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed.