US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced, on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, that his country "officially" concluded that Russian forces had committed "war crimes" in Ukraine, at a time when Russia announced that it had expelled a number of American diplomats from its territory.
Blinken said in a statement, "The US government's assessment is that members of Russian forces committed war crimes in the invasion of Ukraine ," and noted that Washington's assessment is based on "a careful review of information available from public and intelligence sources."
"As with any alleged crime, a court with jurisdiction over the crime is ultimately responsible for determining the criminal charge in specific cases," he added.
He also pointed out that the information included "credible reports of attacks and indiscriminate attacks that deliberately targeted civilians, as well as other atrocities."
Blinken also accused the Russian forces of destroying residential buildings, schools, hospitals, vital infrastructure, civilian cars, shopping centers and ambulances, saying that Russia's attacks "left thousands of innocent civilians dead and wounded."
It is noteworthy that as of 7:20 pm GMT, Russia had not commented on the US accusation of war crimes in Ukraine.
US diplomats expelled
In parallel, Russia decided, on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, to expel American diplomats, in response to Washington's expulsion of 12 members of the Russian diplomatic mission to the United Nations in early March.
This came according to what was announced by the Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement, which stated that “a note containing a list of the names of American diplomats who were declared persona non grata was delivered to the head of the American diplomatic mission who was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry,” according to the agency. French news.
For its part, the "Russia Today" website quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying that it "stressed that any hostile actions by the United States against Russia will receive a decisive and appropriate response."
The Russian decision coincides with US President Joe Biden's visit to Brussels, today, Wednesday; to hold talks with European leaders about Russia's attack on Ukraine, bringing with it plans to impose further sanctions on Moscow.
Biden's visit includes talks in Brussels with NATO and European leaders, and a visit to Warsaw; For consultations with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
"I think it's a real threat," Biden said as he left the White House about the possible use of chemical weapons by Russia in Ukraine.
In turn, Reuters news agency quoted two well-informed sources - whose names were not mentioned - that Biden and his team are preparing plans to impose sanctions on members of the Russian House of Representatives (Duma), in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the sanctions are expected to be announced on Thursday.
It is reported that on February 24, 2022, Russia launched a military operation against its neighbor Ukraine; This prompted regional and international capitals and organizations to impose sanctions on Moscow that included multiple sectors, including diplomatic, economic, financial and sports.
To end the operation, Russia requires Ukraine to abandon any plans to join military entities, including NATO, and to adhere to complete neutrality, which Kyiv considers an "interference in its sovereignty."