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US officially accuses Russian forces of war crimes in Ukraine

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers year-end remarks for 2021 and answers questions from news media gathered at the US State Department in Washington, US, December 21, 2021. (Reuters photo)

The administration of US President Joe Biden has officially accused Russian military forces of committing war crimes in Ukraine, ratcheting up its propaganda offensive against Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Wednesday that Russian Vladimir Putin has “unleashed unrelenting violence that has caused death and destruction across Ukraine.”

“Today, I can announce that, based on information currently available, the US government assesses that members of Russia’s forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine,” he added.

He said the assessment was based on “a careful review of available information from public and intelligence sources.”

“As with any alleged crime, a court of law with jurisdiction over the crime is ultimately responsible for determining criminal guilt in specific cases,” he added.

"The US government will continue to track reports of war crimes and will share information we gather with allies, partners, and international institutions and organizations, as appropriate. We are committed to pursuing accountability using every tool available, including criminal prosecutions," Blinken added.

Analyst: 'US war criminals never face prosecution’

American writer and political analyst Daniel Patrick Welch said in an interview with Press TV on Wednesday that US and Western war criminals have never been prosecuted for the myriad war crimes committed over decades.

He said, “Blinken can say whatever he wants--and like other US officials, he does just that. Whatever, wherever, however...facts be damned. And when he adds the word ‘official,’ well wooaaah look out! That's a clue that now we're taking it up a notch in the world of lies. Look--it is no secret that in the fog of war, all sides will make claims about the others, and accusations will fly.”

“The problem is twofold: not only is the track record of regime in Kiev, a true puppet regime if ever there was one, sorely lacking (there are serious fabrications on all levels which even the western media is starting to cover). The second issue is one of perspective. We have fairly reliable evidence that people coming out of Mariupol are corroborating the years-long accusations that the neo-nazi Azov battalion stationed there has done pretty much what the Russians have said,” he said.  

“We're pretty sure about that medic who gave orders to castrate Russian POWs. We have ample footage of the Roma citizens being strapped to poles, painted green, pants pulled down etc. These things will all see the light of day and can't be suppressed forever,” he added.

“Not to mention that no one has ever been prosecuted for the myriad war crimes committed by the US and NATO over many decades. It's a bit rich coming from the likes of the US Secretary of State,” he stated.

“But perhaps the most shocking part is that the whole reason this situation degenerated into open warfare is the obvious, ongoing and well-documented war crimes being committed by the US/NATO-enabled neo-Nazi groups for the past eight years. And the fact that they have been completely ignored by the Kiev junta and by their US and NATO string-pullers,” he said.

“When these are answered for, it won't be at the Hague or the ICC. It will be in newly formed institutions in the Donbass, with considerable participation from the non-western world. China and Russia really are on the front lines of destroying the corrupt old order led by the US. It is absolutely earthshaking,” he concluded.

Biden’s rant against Putin

Last week, Biden called Putin a "murderous dictator" and a "pure thug,” after calling him a "war criminal."

Biden criticized Putin and the Russian military action in Ukraine, saying, "My generic point is that, you know, now you have Ireland and Great Britain... standing together against a murderous dictator, a pure thug who is waging an immoral war against the people of Ukraine."

Biden earlier called Putin a "war criminal" over the military operation in Ukraine.

Russia denounced the comments as “unacceptable and unforgivable."

"We believe such rhetoric to be unacceptable and unforgivable on the part of the head of a state whose bombs have killed hundreds of thousands of people around the world," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on March 16.

“Such statements from the American president, unworthy of a statesman of such high rank, put Russian-American relations on the verge of rupture,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on March 21.

The US accusations came from the president of the country that has invaded and occupied about half a dozen countries since 9/11.

Biden, in the entire course of his political career, has never opposed US military exploits or condemned their devastating effects on other countries.


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