Los Angeles Times

Biden administration formally accuses Russia of war crimes as humanitarian crisis in Ukraine deepens

The southern city is a key obstacle for Russian forces trying to move west from Crimea to take Odesa, Ukraine's major port on the Black Sea.

LVIV, Ukraine — As President Joe Biden headed Wednesday to a Europe with large-scale battles raging at its edge, his government formally declared that Russian forces have committed war crimes in their brutal attacks on civilians and others in Ukraine.

The besieged port of Mariupol was cited as one of the main pieces of evidence. On Wednesday, Ukraine said Russian forces hijacked aid missions headed to the devastated city, where one of the worst humanitarian crises of the escalating conflict has unfolded with hundreds of civilians killed and scarce supplies of food, water and medicine.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin has unleashed unrelenting violence that has caused death and destruction across Ukraine,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in announcing the government’s determination in a statement released as he flew to NATO headquarters in Brussels with Biden.

Blinken noted deadly Russian attacks on apartment buildings, hospitals, schools and shopping malls, and in Mariupol, on a maternity ward and theater

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times1 min readInternational Relations
Pomona College Moves Graduation Ceremony To LA After Protesters Occupy Stage
LOS ANGELES — Pomona College has moved Sunday's commencement ceremony 30 miles away to the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, after pro-Palestine protesters set up an encampment this week on the ceremony stage. Tickets will be required to attend the 6
Los Angeles Times2 min read
3 Killed In Single-car Crash In Pasadena That Knocked Out Power To Hundreds
LOS ANGELES — Three people were killed and three others seriously injured in a single-car crash that temporarily knocked out power for hundreds of Pasadena residents early Saturday, authorities said. A Tesla Model 3 sedan was traveling westbound on F
Los Angeles Times2 min readInternational Relations
Burning Man, Home Of 'Radical Self Expression,' Removes Pro-Palestinian Sculpture From Its Website
The debates and protests sparked by Israel's war in the Gaza Strip have worked their way into seemingly every corner in the world — even the free-spirited desert festival in Nevada known as Burning Man. Organizers of the festival, where "radical self

Related Books & Audiobooks