President Joe Biden said Russia’s war in Ukraine amounted to “genocide,” accusing President Vladimir Putin of trying to “wipe out the idea of even being a Ukrainian.”
President Vladimir Putin said Russia would "rhythmically and calmly" continue its operation and achieve its goals.
"Yes, I called it genocide because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of being able to be Ukrainian and the evidence is mounting," Biden told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One on Tuesday.
Biden’s comments drew praise from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had encouraged Western leaders to use the term to describe Russia’s invasion of his country. “True words of a true leader @POTUS,” he tweeted.
A United Nations treaty, to which the U.S. is a party, defines genocide as actions taken with the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
Putin vows to continue “campaign”
Russia vowed to continue its bloody offensive in Ukraine as the war neared its seventh week Wednesday, as President Vladimir Putin insisted the campaign was going as planned despite a major withdrawal and significant losses.
Putin said Tuesday that Moscow “had no other choice” and that the invasion aimed to protect people in parts of eastern Ukraine and to “ensure Russia’s own security.” He vowed it would “continue until its full completion and the fulfilment of the tasks that have been set.”
Putin’s forces meanwhile are gearing up for a major offensive in the Donbas, where Russia recognized the separatists’ claims of independence. According to Military Analysts Moscow believes local support, logistics and the terrain in the region favor its larger, better-armed military, potentially allowing Russia to finally turn the tide in its favor.
There are indications that Russia could be close to capturing the key southern port city of Mariupol, which has suffered a devastating, six-week assault.
Should Mariupol fall into Russian hands, it would provide control of a clear swathe of territory connecting Moscow's two fronts in the south and east reoprted BBC.
EU presidents travel to Ukraine
Meanwhile Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was expected to receive the presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — his staunch European allies.
“On our way to Kyiv, to a city that has suffered terribly due to Russian war since my last visit“ tweeted Estonian President Alar Karis.
-Reuters/AP/BBC