Saying That Russia And Vladimir Putin Carried Out Genocide In Ukraine, President Biden: The Evidence Is Growing

JAKARTA - US President Joe Biden said for the first time Moscow's invasion of Ukraine amounted to genocide, as President Vladimir Putin said Russia would "rhythmically and calmly" continue its operations and achieve its goals.

President Biden used the term genocide, a significant escalation of the president's rhetoric, in a speech at an ethanol plant in Iowa and later endorsed the description as he prepared to board Air Force One.

"Yes, I call it genocide because it's becoming increasingly clear that Putin is just trying to erase the idea of being Ukrainian and the evidence is mounting," President Biden told reporters on April 13.

"We will let lawyers decide internationally whether it (genocide) qualifies or not, but it seems that way to me."

President Biden has repeatedly called President Putin a war criminal. But Tuesday was the first time he had accused Russia of genocide.

Meanwhile, Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, saying Ukrainian and Western accusations of war crimes were fabricated to discredit Russian troops.

Many of the cities where Russia has retreated in northern Ukraine are littered with bodies of civilians killed in what Kyiv says is a campaign of murder, torture and rape.

The Kremlin said it launched a "special military operation" on February 24 to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine. Kyiv and its Western allies reject this as a false pretext.

The nearly seven-week Moscow offensive, the biggest attack on a European country since 1945, has caused more than 4.6 million people to flee abroad, killed or injured thousands, and left Russia virtually isolated on the world stage.