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Biden describes Putin’s actions in Ukraine as ‘genocide’ for first time
The Financial Times reported, US president Joe Biden referred to Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine as “genocide” for the first time, in an apparent escalation in the White House’s rhetoric against Russia.
Speaking at an event in Iowa on Tuesday to promote his administration’s efforts to cut the cost of petrol for US consumers, Biden said: “Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away.”
The report said that the comments marked a major shift for the US president, who previously stopped short of calling atrocities in Bucha and elsewhere “genocide”, instead accusing Putin of committing “war crimes”.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan earlier this month told reporters the US had “not yet seen a level of systematic deprivation of life of the Ukrainian people to rise to the level of genocide”.
Volodymyr Zelensky described Biden’s comments as the “true words of a true leader”, in a tweet directed to the US president’s Twitter handle.
Vladimir Putin : Talks with Ukraine have reached a 'dead-end situation'
Ukraine’s president wrote in his message: “Calling things by their names is essential to stand up to evil,” .
Source: financialtimes
