Biden Labels Putin War Criminal, Murderous Dictator
The Facts
- Biden on Thurs. called Putin a murderous dictator and pure thug who is waging an immoral war against the people of Ukraine. His comments came the day after he termed the Russian President a war criminal.
- The remarks followed Russian forces dropping a powerful bomb on a theater sheltering hundreds of civilians in the besieged city of Mariupol; Russia claims it was blown up by the Ukraine's far-right Azov Battalion.
- Secretary of State Anthony Blinken agreed that Russia has committed war crimes by intentionally targeting civilians, citing a long list of attacks on civilian non-military locations across Ukraine, including a maternity hospital in Mariupol.
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The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The International Court of Justice as well as the US Senate has expressed concern and commented on the need for further investigation of potential Russian war crimes. Biden was right to finally call Putin what he is, a war criminal.
Establishment-critical narrative
Putin may be a war criminal but the consequences of Russian actions aren't yet comparable to those of US wars in Iraq and in Afghanistan in past decades. US politicians' comments reveal a double standard in light of America's own actions and lack of commitment to international treaties on the ICC and cluster munitions.
Metaculus Prediction
The Metaculus Community predicts a 52% chance that the International Criminal Court will charge Vladimir Putin with war crimes by 2024 in connection to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
