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President Joe Biden said Tuesday that Russia was committing “genocide” in Ukraine.
“It has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being able to be a Ukrainian,” Biden said of the invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Tuesday marked the first time Biden has used the word “genocide” to refer to atrocities during Russia’s attack on Ukraine, although he has called Putin a war criminal.
Putin remains defiant in the face of growing condemnation over the invasion, saying, “There is no doubt that we will achieve our goals.”
Russian forces appear poised to intensify their attacks in eastern Ukraine, where the besieged city of Mariupol is located. Ukrainian forces have held out for weeks in the strategic city, but fears are growing for civilians trapped without basic supplies.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he takes the possibility of chemical weapons' being used "as seriously as possible" and urges the West to send more weapons to help lift the siege.
- The White House could announce a new $750 million military aid package for Ukraine as early as this week, U.S. officials said.
- Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko has said more than 10,000 civilians have been killed in the key port city since Russia invaded.
- Zelenskyy has accused Russian forces of leaving “thousands” of mines behind in the north before pulling out of the region.
- See our full coverage here.
More than 720 civilians killed in Kyiv region, 200 missing, Ukraine says
More than 720 civilians have been killed in the Kyiv region of Ukraine since Russia attacked and occupied the area before withdrawing, the Ukrainian interior ministry said. At least 200 people are missing.
The mayor of the Kyiv suburb of Bucha said Tuesday that 403 bodies have been recovered there. Corpses in civilian clothes seen strewn in the streets of Bucha after Russian forces left have sparked international outrage.
Bucha Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk said that Tuesday morning, teams started recovering bodies that were found in a second mass grave. He said the 403 people had been murdered.
The more than 720 bodies identified were in Kyiv oblast, which is similar to a province, the interior ministry said. Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Iryna Venediktova, tweeted Tuesday that six civilians were found shot to death in a basement in the Kyiv region, and she called it an atrocity carried out by Russia’s army.
Pentagon to meet with defense companies about Ukraine weapons needs
The Defense Department will meet Wednesday with leaders of the top eight U.S. defense manufacturers to discuss capacity if Russia’s war against Ukraine goes on for years, a Pentagon official said.
The U.S. has been supplying military aid to Ukraine since the invasion began Feb. 24.
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said she planned to meet with Raytheon’s CEO on Tuesday and had planned to meet with others at a roundtable Wednesday.
“What can we do to help them? What do they need to generate supply?” she said.
The White House is preparing to announce a new military aid package for Ukraine that could be worth $750 million, three senior administration officials said.
Zelenskyy tweets ‘true words’ after Biden accuses Russia of genocide
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted “true words of a true leader” after President Joe Biden said Tuesday that atrocities committed by Russia in Ukraine amounted to genocide.
“Calling things by their names is essential to stand up to evil,” Zelenskyy wrote in the tweet, which was directed at Biden.
Biden used the word “genocide” in Iowa on Tuesday in reference to Russia’s attack on Ukraine and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “trying to wipe out the idea of even being able to be a Ukrainian.”
Russia has been accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine, including after images of bodies of people in civilian clothes in Bucha after Russian forces left. Zelenskyy has said a missile attack on a railway station in Kramatorsk was a war crime. U.S. officials have also assessed that Russian forces have committed war crimes, citing indiscriminate attacks and attacks on civilian targets. Russia has denied targeting civilians and has tried to claim that the scene at Bucha was "staged."
Zelenskyy proposes exchange of Medvedchuk for Ukrainians held by Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed in a video Tuesday exchanging pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk for Ukrainians held by Russia.
Zelenskyy said Medvedchuk, who had been under house arrest but escaped days after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion, had been detained as he was trying to flee Ukraine.
Zelenskyy posted a photo earlier Tuesday appearing to show Medvedchuck in handcuffs and a military uniform, which Zelenskyy referred to as a disguise.
“Well, if Medvedchuk chose a military uniform for himself, he falls under the rules of wartime. I propose to the Russian Federation to exchange this guy of yours for our boys and girls in Russian captivity,” Zelenskyy said.
Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian politician, was one of the leaders of the now-disbanded Opposition Platform for Life Party. He became a state treason suspect last year in an alleged coal-buying scheme.
Putin says talks with Ukraine at ‘dead end’
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that talks with Ukraine are at a “dead end” and that the invasion and the war he launched in February would continue.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators held talks in Istanbul last month. Putin accused Ukraine of changing positions and said an “inconsistency” created problems in reaching any agreement.
“Until it happens, the military operation will continue until its full completion and achievement of the targets set at the start of the operation,” Putin said in Belarus.
Ukraine negotiator David Arakhamia denied that Ukraine has changed its position. He said negotiations continue online.
“The Ukrainian side adheres to the Istanbul Communiqué and has not changed its position,” he said in a statement.
Biden suggests Putin is a ‘dictator’ who has committed ‘genocide half a world away’
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden bemoaned the spike in gas prices as being driven by a “dictator” who committed “genocide half a world away” in a speech Tuesday, apparently a reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine.
In remarks in Iowa, the president blamed Putin for recent price hikes at the pump. “Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away,” he said.
Biden had stopped short on April 5 of labeling the atrocities in Bucha as "genocide" when reporters asked him whether Russian actions there fit that definition. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said then that the killings documented in Ukraine did not rise to the level of “genocide” as defined by the U.S. government.
The State Department has a lengthy internal process for determining whether mass killing amounts to genocide, including collecting evidence over time.
Read the full story here.
Biden may announce $750 million in military aid for Ukraine
WASHINGTON — The White House is preparing to announce a new military aid package for Ukraine as early as this week, with equipment that appears specifically intended to help Ukrainian forces fight Russia in the eastern Donbas region, three senior administration officials said.
Two U.S. officials said the aid package could be worth $750 million. The package is likely to include new capabilities, such as unmanned surface vehicles — sometimes called sea drones or drone ships — and Mi-17 helicopters, according to a U.S. official and a senior defense official.
Pentagon, arms makers to discuss Ukraine security needs
WASHINGTON — Defense Department officials will meet with eight U.S. defense contractors Wednesday to talk about Ukraine's future security needs, a Pentagon official said.
The meeting is part of ongoing dialogue to "ensure a resilient industrial base that is responsive to the department's needs," the official said.
"To continue to support this protracted conflict, we are engaging in strategically focused discussions with industry to ensure we are prepared as a nation to support the long-term needs of the Ukrainian people, our own national security needs and those of our allies and our partners," the official said.
