US President Joe Biden was the first to use the term ‘genocide’ to target Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that Putin is trying to exterminate Ukrainians,” Biden said during a visit to Iowa on the 12th local time, the Associated Press reported.
Genocide means ‘violence committed for the purpose of abolishing all or part of a particular people, ethnic, racial, religious or political group’.
Although President Biden has previously referred to Russia’s actions as “war crimes,” this is the first time he has indicated that it appears to be genocide.
“Whether Russia’s actions are genocide is a matter for the legal community to decide,” Biden said.
“There is more evidence coming out of what Russia has done in Ukraine,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted about this, saying it was “a true statement from a true leader.”