President Biden calls Vladimir Putin a war criminal

CNN– President Joe Biden is now calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal. He has previously stopped short of that label, and stuck to that precedent Wednesday following remarks at the White House, when he answered “no” to the question of whether Putin was a war criminal. He then returned to a group of reporters to clarify what had been asked. At that point he did use the term to describe Putin.

Biden previously said it wasn’t clear if war crimes were being committed in Ukraine. Officials believe the Russian military is targeting civilians, which qualifies as a war crime, but the White House is doubling down on Biden’s remark. When asked about it, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said “the president’s remarks speak for themselves.”

She also indicated the State Department is still investigating whether Putin is committing war crimes.