US President Joe Biden accuses his Russian counterpart of genocide in Ukraine. This is the first time Biden has linked Russian atrocities in Ukraine to genocide. He previously called Putin a war criminal.
During a visit to the US state of Iowa, Biden spoke of the increased fuel prices: “Your family income, your ability to fill your tank, none of that should depend on a dictator on the other side of the world declaring war and committing genocide. ” The US government and its allies are doing everything they can to prevent Putin from using his energy resources “as a weapon against American families, families in Europe and around the world.”
After follow-up questions from journalists about his use of the term “genocide”, the US president stuck to his statement. “I called it genocide because it has become increasingly clear that Putin is trying to eradicate the idea that it is possible to be Ukrainian,” he said. “And the evidence (for genocide) is piling up.” By the way, he did not mean that Russia is guilty of genocide in a legal sense. “It is up to the lawyers to decide internationally whether it can be qualified as such, but it certainly seems so to me,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky had previously accused Russian troops of genocide, later British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also spoke up after the discovery of numerous civilian deaths in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian city of Butya.
Genocide is another word for genocide, the crime of systematic and deliberate extermination of an ethnic group, or of part of it. In practice, genocide often equates to mass murder of a specific group, although other acts are also included in the definition. From a formal legal point of view, genocide is not a war crime, because it is not a violation of the law of war, and genocide can also be committed in peacetime. It falls under the larger category of crimes against humanity, as defined in the Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998).
The term genocide (ancient Greek gnos means race or tribe and the Latin cide means to kill) was first used in 1944 by the Polish jurist Raphael Lemkin, who also prepared the Genocide Convention (1948). The most famous genocide of the 20th century is the Holocaust, the murder of European Jews by Nazi Germany, but there have been many cases of genocide before and after. Examples are the massacres of Armenians (between 1895 and 1927, the killing of half a million people in Rwanda (1994) and the Second Congolese War between 1998 and 2008.
Additional US military support
To further support Ukraine’s fight against the Russians, President Biden is expected to announce an additional $750 million in military aid to Ukraine today or tomorrow at the latest.
The military aid will be financed through the so-called Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), a provision in US law that gives the president the power to authorize transfers of goods and services in emergency situations without approval from parliament. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in this case is that emergency.
No final decision has yet been made on the exact composition of the weapons package, government officials tell US media. According to The Washington Post most likely it concerns heavy anti-aircraft systems, such as anti-tank missiles, as well as ammunition and body armor. The US would also be willing to send Mi-17 helicopters that could be equipped to attack Russian vehicles, the paper said.
The expected new arms shipment comes on top of more than $2.4 billion in US military aid to Ukraine since President Biden took office last year. $1.7 billion of that has been provided since Russia invaded the country on February 24.
The US Department of Defense is meeting today with top officials at the eight largest US arms manufacturers to discuss whether the industry will be able to meet Ukraine’s arms needs if the war with Russia lasts for years. Among those companies are Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Raytheon Technologies.
Prisoner Swap
President Zelensky last night proposed to exchange pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, who was arrested Tuesday, for male and female prisoners of war held by Russian troops. In a speech, Zelensky said it is “important for our security forces and armed forces to consider such a possibility.”
Medvedchuk, leader of the Ukrainian opposition party Opposition Platform – For Life, disappeared without a trace at the end of February after the Ukrainian authorities placed him under house arrest last May. He was arrested on Tuesday by members of the Ukrainian security service on charges of, among other things, financing terrorism and treason. Medvedchuk is considered a very loyal ally of Putin. He would be the godfather of his youngest daughter.
Chemical weapons
Zelensky also called on the international world to be alert to the possible use of weapons of mass destruction by Russia. He referred to reports from the city of Mariupol the day before that Russia had attacked there with an unidentified chemical. It’s not 100 percent sure what kind of substance it was, he said. In the besieged city, it was impossible to conduct a full investigation.
In any case, the United States is taking serious account of the fact that the Russians are using chemicals as a weapon. The Americans have “credible information” that Russia may be using chemicals in its offensive to take besieged Mariupol, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
For example, Russia could mix tear gas and other chemicals to weaken and disable Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, said Blinken, who said it would share the information with Ukraine. Also, the Americans are trying to establish with partners “what’s really happening, so this is a real concern.” The minister stressed that he cannot confirm the allegations that Moscow has already used chemical weapons in Mariupol, which had been reported by Ukrainian fighters there and subsequently by Ukrainian media and politicians.
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