“You saw what happened in Bucha,” Biden said, adding that Putin was “a war criminal.” Mr Biden’s comments to reporters came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Bhutan, one of the cities around Kyiv, where Ukrainian officials say civilian bodies have been found. On Sunday, “Face the Nation,” Zelenskyy called Russia’s actions “genocide” and called on the West to impose tougher sanctions on Russia. The president, however, did not call the actions genocide. The bodies of 410 civilians have been removed from cities in the Kiev region recently recaptured by Russian forces, said Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova. Associated Press reporters saw the bodies of at least 21 people in various locations around Buha, northwest of the capital. “We must continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to continue the fight. And we must gather all the details to make it a reality – a war crimes trial,” Biden said as he returned to Washington from a weekend trip. in Delaware. The president criticized Putin as “brutal.” “What is happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyone is watching,” Biden added. At the Pentagon, a senior defense official said the United States could not independently confirm the atrocities in Bucha, but had no reason to deny them. The official described the images as “deeply disturbing”. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on Twitter on Monday that the European Union would send investigators to Ukraine to help the local attorney general “document war crimes”. Mr Biden said he was repulsed last month when he described Putin as a war criminal for the ongoing bombings in Ukraine following the bombing of hospitals and maternity hospitals. In remarks Monday, Biden made it clear that the label is still valid. “This guy is brutal and what is happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyone has seen it,” he said. Investigations into Putin’s actions began ahead of new allegations of atrocities outside Kyiv. The United States and more than 40 other countries are working together to investigate possible violations and abuses, following a resolution by the United Nations Human Rights Council setting up a commission of inquiry. There is another investigation by the International Criminal Court, an independent body based in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Biden’s chief envoy to the United Nations, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, announced Monday that the United States plans to seek to suspend Russia from its post on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. may have Russian forces committed war crimes in Ukraine. This would require a decision by the UN General Assembly. Russia and the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council – Britain, China, France and the United States – currently hold seats in the Geneva-based Council of 47 Rights. The United States rejoined the council this year. Bo Erickson and Eleanor Watson contributed to the report. More
