President Biden called for a war crimes trial against Russian president Vladimir Putin on Monday in response to Ukrainian accusations that Russian forces murdered civilians in a suburb of Kyiv.
“You may remember I got criticized for calling Putin a war criminal. You saw what happened in Bucha. This warrants—he is a war criminal,” Biden told reporters.
“But we have to gather the information. We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue the fight. And we have to gather all the detail, so this can be an actual, have a war crimes trial,” Biden added.
President Biden on President Putin:
"This guy is brutal, and what's happening in Bucha is outrageous, and everyone's seen it … I think it is a war crime … I'm seeking more sanctions."https://t.co/ws5cDYyQc1 pic.twitter.com/5usLJEUtHB
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 4, 2022
Biden’s comments come after over 100 civilians were found in mass graves in the town of Bucha, west of Kyiv, following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the area.
The Ukrainian government has granted jurisdiction over the war crimes investigation to the International Criminal Court, whose investigators have already begun documenting the alleged atrocities in Ukraine.
The American ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said the U.S. would attempt to suspend Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council over the incident.
“In close coordination with Ukraine, European countries and other partners at the UN, we are going to seek Russia’s suspension from the UN Human Rights Council,” Thomas-Greenfield told reporters in Romania on Monday. In order to suspend a country from the HRC, two-thirds of the U.N. General Assembly must vote in favor of a suspension.
Ukrainian officials have alleged atrocities committed by Russian troops, with images from the town showing bodies in the streets.
“We want you to show the world what happened here. What the Russian military did. What the Russian Federation did in peaceful Ukraine,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters while visiting Bucha on Monday, according to CNN. Zelensky later added, “We are going to put maximum pressure. We shall not pause for one minute to find all the criminals and I think this will benefit civilization.”
Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov called the attack “fake.”
“The other day another fake attack was carried out in the city of Bucha in the Kyiv region after the Russian servicemen left the area in accordance with the plans and agreements reached,” Lavrov said on Monday, according to the Independent. “A fake attack was staged there a few days later, and it’s being fomented on all channels and social media by Ukrainian representatives and their Western patrons.”