White House press secretary Jen Psaki would not say if Russian attacks against the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine constituted a war crime.
Her comments on Friday came just hours after the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv claimed the projectile attack, which resulted in two injuries and a localized fire, was a war crime.
US EMBASSY CALLS RUSSIAN ATTACK ON NUCLEAR PLANT A ‘WAR CRIME’
“Well, we have an internal review that’s been ongoing, of — prior to last night — to collect evidence and data on the targeting of civilians, of the reported use of horrific weapons of war on the ground in Ukraine,” Psaki told reporters at Friday’s press briefing. “That’s an ongoing process. We have not made conclusions. It’s a legal review in a process that goes through the administration.”
Psaki conceded that “the intentional targeting of civilians or civilian objects would be considered a war crime, even as we are assessing that — regardless of the legality.”
“This action was the height of irresponsibility,” she added. “The Kremlin must cease operations around nuclear infrastructure, and we have, of course, remaining concerns.”
Furthermore, Psaki outlined the administration’s concerns “about the fact that they have clearly taken control of the plants or it appears so the Russian military has” and called for the Kremlin “to immediately withdraw its forces around the facility.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
You can watch Friday’s entire briefing below.
