Russia’s actions in Ukraine conflict is a ‘genocide’: Biden

Bloomberg

President Joe Biden for the first time accused Russia of committing genocide in Ukraine,
significantly escalating his condemnation of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Speaking at an event in Iowa laying out steps to lower fuel costs that have surged during the war, Biden described Russia’s actions in the conflict as a “genocide.” He later stood by his comments, but said lawyers would ultimately make the official determination.
“Yes, I called it genocide because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of being able to be Ukrainian,” the president told reporters before departing Iowa. “The evidence is mounting.”
The comments will intensify political pressure to intervene rather than force the US administration to do anything. In
theory, a legal determination would create certain obligations the United Nations Genocide Convention. In practice, it’s a different story. But trying to prove such crimes against humanity has proved to be difficult and divisive. A UN treaty defines genocide as actions taken with the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” But trying to prove such crimes against humanity has proved to be difficult and divisive.
Biden previously said Russia hadn’t committed genocide, even after Ukrainian officials — including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy — made that allegation. In March, the State
Deparment determined that Myanmar’s military committed genocide against the Rohingya minority. The crimes there had taken place years before.
The timeframe here is potentially much reduced. Biden has said Russian forces had committed war crimes and labeled Putin a “war criminal” after apparent atrocities against civilians were revealed in the town of Bucha, Ukraine.
“True words of a true leader,” Zelenskiy tweeted in reference to Biden following the president’s remarks. “Calling things by their names is essential to stand up to evil.”
In the Iowa speech, Biden said the budgets of Americans should not depend on whether “a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away” while announcing a new measure to allow expanded sales of higher-ethanol gasoline this summer. Though Biden
has repeatedly accused Putin’s forces of war crimes and atrocities, US officials have explicitly said they do not necessarily constitute “genocide.”
“We have not yet seen a level of systematic deprivation of life of the Ukrainian people to rise to the level of genocide. But, again, that’s something we will continue to monitor,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.
But the US president said he had seen “more evidence” of “the horrible things that the Russians have done in Ukraine, and we’re gonna only learn more and more about the devastation.” “We’ll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me,” Biden added.
Biden’s comments are the latest example of him going further than his administration’s official positions.
In a speech in Warsaw last month, Biden touched off a furor when he said Putin “cannot remain in power.” The president and his aides later said he was speaking about his personal views and that the remark did not mean the US was pursuing a policy of regime change in Russia.