Biden says he thinks Putin is ‘a war criminal’

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The Kremlin responded by saying Biden’s characterization was “unacceptable and unforgivable.”

Biden initially said “no” to the question shouted at him by a reporter attending a White House event celebrating the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. But he doubled back to clarify the query and offer his brief response.

Biden ignored the same question after his Wednesday afternoon remarks regarding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s plea to a joint session of Congress for more security, economic, and humanitarian assistance in the war between his country and Russia. The conflict is entering its fourth week.

Other elected Democrats have deployed the phrase. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, who is in a tough midterm reelection campaign, had implored Biden Wednesday morning to rely on the language.

“Call it what is,” he said.

U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield has referred to Putin’s attacks on Ukrainian civilians as “war crimes,” but the White House had so far demurred.

“If Russia is intentionally targeting civilians, that would be a war crime. And as we are all seeing on live television, evidence is mounting. And we are documenting it as it takes place,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said last week.

Bates’s boss, White House press secretary Jen Psaki, earlier mentioned the legal procedures required for the classification.

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“There’s a review, a legal review process that the United States undergoes to make considerations of labeling something as a ‘war crime,'” she said. “That is the ongoing process that we’re pursuing at this point in time. It’s ongoing.”