“Yes, I called it genocide. It is becoming increasingly clear that Putin is trying to destroy the idea that it is even possible to be Ukrainian, “US President told reporters Biden before leaving Iowa, where he first used the term genocide in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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According to Biden, lawyers will have to decide whether the actions of Russian forces in Ukraine meet the international definition of genocide. But he thinks: “I think it certainly looks that way. There is further evidence of the terrible things that the Russians have done in Ukraine, and we will only learn more and more about the devastation, leaving lawyers to decide at the international level whether this can be classified as genocide. “
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Biden said about the genocide a few days after the rockets hit the Kramatorsk railway station, through which civilians were evacuated from Donbas, and then the unproven allegations of chemical weapons deployment in Mariupol.
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Ukrainian President Zelensky Biden praised the statement on Twitter: “The real words of a real leader. Calling things by their real names is essential for us to face evil. We are grateful for the American aid we have provided so far, and we urgently need more heavy weapons to prevent further Russian atrocities. ”
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True words of a true leader @POTUS. Calling things by their names is essential to stand up to evil. We are grateful for US assistance provided so far and we urgently need more heavy weapons to prevent further Russian atrocities.
– Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@ZelenskyyUa) April 12, 2022
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Biden spoke of genocide for the first time
According to world agencies, Biden used the term genocide for the first time in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Tuesday: speech in Iowa with reference to Putin.
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Last week, Biden said he did not think Russian forces were committing genocide in Ukraine, but said it was a “war crime,” the AP reported.
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During a visit to Warsaw at Putin’s address in late March, Biden said: “For God’s sake, this man cannot stay in power. The White House later explained that Biden had not called for a regime change in Russia and for Putin’s departure, but for Putin’s need to lose power over Ukrainian territory and the wider region.
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“I expressed the moral outrage I felt for this man. I did not express a change in policy,” Biden said a few days later.
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