‘Very credible’ reports of war crimes by Russia in Ukraine: Antony Blinken

There are “very credible” reports that suggest Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, days after President Joe Biden suggested that it was too early to deem whether Russia was committing war crimes in the eastern European country.

In an interview with CNN’s Jake Trapper on ‘State of the Union’, Blinken said, “Jake, we’ve seen very credible reports of deliberate attacks on civilians which would constitute a war crime. We’ve seen very credible reports about the use of certain weapons.”

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The 59-year-old went on to say that the US was monitoring the situation to ensure that appropriate organisations are roped in to deal with Russia’s war-time abuses.

“And what we’re doing right now is documenting all of this, putting it all together, looking at it and making sure that, as people and the appropriate organizations and institutions investigate whether war crimes have been or are being committed, that we can support whatever — whatever they’re doing. So, right now we’re looking at these reports. They’re very credible and we’re documenting everything,” Blinken explained.

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The US Secretary of State’s comments about the situation in Ukraine appear to be an update to President Biden’s comments on the same a few days back.

Asked about whether Russia was targeting civilians, the 79-year-old had said, “It’s clear they are.” However, when asked about whether Russia was committing war crimes, President Biden said, “We are following it very closely. It’s too early to say that.”

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Indeed, there have been reports and footage of Russian attacks on civilian targets shared on social media, and Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians.

In fact, two attempts to evacuate civilians were also halted over the past couple of days after Ukrainian authorities accused Russian forces of shelling even during a temporary ceasefire. Ukrainian authorities have also labelled Russian attacks on nuclear plants as a war crime, and it remains to be seen what, if any, action is taken in the days to come.