Antony Blinken Now ‘Personally’ Agrees With Biden That Putin is a War Criminal

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday said he “personally” agrees with President Joe Biden that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal, though the administration has for weeks avoided saying so.

“We have seen Russia use similar tactics before, Aleppo, they stepped up bombardment with the goal of breaking the will of the people,” Blinked said during a press conference, while condemning the recent Russian bombing of a theater in Mariupol, which was being used as a shelter for civilians.

“Yesterday, President Biden said that in his opinion war crimes have been committed in Ukraine,” Blinken said during his remarks.

“Personally, I agree. Intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime,” he added. “After all the destruction of the past three weeks, I find it difficult to conclude that the Russians are doing otherwise.”

🚨This marks the first time the administration has referred to the Russian President as a war criminal – until now, officials have shied away from that language.

POTUS tells me “I think he is a war criminal”

(Thanks to @kwelkernbc for the camera work 🎥) pic.twitter.com/u4fLdkxMbt

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) March 16, 2022

Fox News White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich joined America Reports ahead of Blinkens remarks to explain the importance of Biden’s recent comments.:

For weeks U.S. Officials have resisted using the term war criminal, instead calling for Putin and Russia to be investigated for war crimes. But yesterday after Ukrainian president Zelensky’s emotional plea to Congress the president made his harshest condemnation yet, telling me that he thinks Putin is a war criminal and the Kremlin is not happy.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Biden’s calling Putin a war criminal was “unacceptable and unforgivable.”