U.S. Officially Announces That It Believes Russia Has Committed War Crimes on Its Ukraine Invasion
The U.S. government has officially described Russia's invasion of Ukraine as war crimes with Secretary of State Antony Blinken making the announcement.
The U.S. government has also called for the prosecution of Russia for its war crimes in Ukraine, according to a CNBC report.
Blinken has raised in a statement that the "brutality" in the city of Mariupol, Ukraine, likening it to Russian campaigns against Grozny in the Second Chechen War and Aleppo during the Syrian civil war.
He noted that Russia's forces have destroyed apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, critical infrastructure, civilian vehicles, and ambulances. Blinken said that Russia has left thousands of innocent civilians killed or wounded.
The state secretary said that the question of Russia's guilt or innocence would ultimately be left in the hands of a court of law.
U.S. Government: Russia Committed War Crimes
Blinken made the announcement based on the information currently available, noting that the U.S. government has assessed that members of Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine, according to The Guardian report.
He added that the U.S. would continue its efforts to gather evidence and share it with international agencies concerned.
Blinken said that the U.S. is committed to pursuing accountability through "every tool available," which includes criminal prosecutions.
U.S. President Joe Biden has remarked earlier that he considered Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal.
Biden's statement has been decried by Kremlin, warning that the comment could cause a breach in bilateral relations.
A newly confirmed ambassador at large for global criminal justice, Beth Van Schaack, was asked if the state department was pertaining specifically to Putin.
Van Schaack said that it would be up to the courts to decide that. However, she noted that there are doctrines under international law and domestic law that are able to reach "all the way up the chain of command."
The state department did not cite any specific attacks and incidents that the agency considered to be war crimes; but Van Schaack said that the Mariupol hospital shelling seemed to have been a "direct attack" on civilians.
She added that she would support making U.S. evidence possible whenever possible.
Russia-Ukraine Crisis
Meanwhile, a Russian-drafted call for aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine that does not cite Moscow's role in the crisis has failed at the United Nations Security Council.
Britain's U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward told the council after the vote that if Russia cared about the humanitarian situation, "it would stop bombing children" and end their siege.
Woodward said that Russia has not stopped doing those, according to a Sky News report.
Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said that the vote was turned down due to "political reasons."
Thirteen members abstained in the vote, while only Russia and China voted in favor of the resolution drafted by Russia.
The city of Mariupol is "almost totally destroyed," with around 100,000 people living in its ashes trapped and trying to stay alive.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that 100,000 citizens are trapped in the city without any access to food or water.
READ MORE: Russia-Ukraine Crisis: WHO Advises Ukraine to Destroy Health Lab Pathogens to Curb Spread of Disease
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: State Department Declares Russians Have Committed War crimes In Ukraine - from MSNBC