Biden appeared to accuse Putin of committing a 'genocide' in Ukraine

NPR Washington Desk | NPR

April 12th, 2022

President Biden appeared to accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of a "genocide" in Ukraine on Tuesday as he spoke in Iowa about his administration's efforts to bring down spiking fuel prices.
Mandel Ukraine / Mandel Ukraine

President Biden on Tuesday appeared for the first time to accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of committing a “genocide” in Ukraine. The president made the accusation in a speech in Iowa, where he blamed the Russian invasion for higher gas prices.

“Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide a half a world away,” Biden said.

Asked about the comment in an interview on MSNBC shortly following the president’s speech, National Security Council communications adviser Matthew Miller said “The president has never, since the beginning of this war in Ukraine, hesitated to call out the atrocities that we are seeing on the ground.”

Miller said the escalation in rhetoric from previously accusing Russia of atrocities and war crimes did not indicate a shift in the U.S. response.

“Nothing is going to change with our response,” he told MSNBC. Miller noted that the U.S. is working with allies to investigate alleged war crimes, which he called a “long-term process.”

Miller also said the president’s position has not changed in terms of U.S. military involvement, saying the White House believes direct U.S. military engagement in Ukraine is not in the security interests of the U.S., European allies or Ukraine because of how it could widen the conflict.