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.”
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