Analysis: Biden calls Putin a war criminal

(17 Mar 2022) U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal as the atrocities in Ukraine mount and the president there begged the U.S. Congress for more help. “He’s a war criminal,” the president said of Putin as he left an unrelated event. It’s the sharpest condemnation yet of Putin and Russian actions by a U.S. official since the invasion of Ukraine. "It's unclear if he was moved to speak more harshly against Putin in the aftermath of a very emotionally stirring speech by Zelenskyy or if this was just a moment of pique, where he got ahead of himself. That's a question that he's going to have to answer in the days ahead and explain just exactly what did he mean when he called Putin a war criminal," said Associated Press reporter Aamer Madhani. While other world leaders have used the words, the White House had been hesitant to declare Putin’s actions those of a war criminal, saying it was a legal term that required research. But in a speech Wednesday, Biden said Russian troops had bombed hospitals and held doctors hostage. He pledged more aid to help Ukraine fight Russia. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...