THE US has officially accused Russia of committing war crimes during its invasion of Ukraine which has seen thousands of civilians killed.
America’s top diplomat Antony Blinken said there were “credible reports” of Russian troops targeting innocent civilians in “indiscriminate and deliberate” attacks.
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Speaking ahead of a tour of NATO member states with President Joe Biden, Blinken said: “We’ve seen numerous credible reports of indiscriminate attacks and attacks deliberately targeting civilians, as well as other atrocities.
“Russia’s forces have destroyed apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, critical infrastructure, civilian vehicles, shopping centers, and ambulances, leaving thousands of innocent civilians killed or wounded.”
He added: “As with any alleged crime, a court of law with jurisdiction over the crime is ultimately responsible for determining criminal guilt in specific cases.”
It comes as the number of civilian casualties continues to climb and Russia is accused or targeting a maternity hospital and theatre in the besieged city of Mariupol.
President Biden has labelled his Russian counterpart a “war criminal”.
Blinken back his boss’ comment, saying that “war crimes have been committed in Ukraine”.
“Personally, I agree. Intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime,” he said.
“After all the destruction of the past three weeks, I find it difficult to conclude that the Russians are doing otherwise.”
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It comes as reports emerge of Russian soldiers raping a Ukrainian woman in front of her kid after killing her husband.
Ukraine’s top prosecutor said two Russian soldiers gunned down the dad after storming the house in a village near Kyiv before the pair of them brutally attacked his wife.
Prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova said the two savages “repeatedly” raped the woman in the horror assault – and “threatened her with violence and weapons”.
Ms Venediktova alleged the vile soldiers even threatened her child who was in the house at the time – and claimed one of the men was drunk.
She said one of the troops has been identified by the police and is now wanted, Kyiv Independent reports.
His identity has not been made public – and it is understood the other suspect has not yet been identified.
Invading Russian troops have been accused of raping women in a number of cities.
Last month, Ukraine’s foreign minister confirmed there had been reports of Putin’s soldiers sexually assaulting Ukrainian women.
Anastasia Taran, 30, said Putin’s brutal soldiers have been raping women in the Russian-occupied city of Irpin – which has been under attack from Russia’s invading forces for nearly a month.
And a Ukrainian gymnast reportedly died killed in a merciless Russian airstrike as Vladimir Putin turns besieged Mariupol into the “land of the dead”.
Kateryna Dyachenko, 10, tragically died after her home was bombed in the southern port city as street fighting and bombardments rage.
The youngster’s coach, Anastasia Meshchanenkova, confirmed her death in a post on Instagram.
In a sweet photo in December last year, Anastasia described “beautiful” Kateryna as her “favourite”.
Tributes have poured in for the little girl from gymnastics organisations around the world.
Bulgarian gymnast Iliana Raeva, who is the president of the country’s Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, said: “I can’t believe it… our colleague from Ukraine shared this terrible tragedy.
“This wonderfully tender creature is already an angel.”
She added: “I can’t believe we live in such a cruel world.”
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