WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, Secretary Antony Blinken officially announced that the United States believed that Russia had committed war crimes within Ukraine.

Blinken repeated the cruelty in Mariupol (Ukraine) in a statement and made comparisons to Russian operations against Grozny and Aleppo in the Second Chechen War.

Blinken stated that Russia’s forces had destroyed apartments, schools, hospitals and critical infrastructure as well as civilian vehicles, shopping malls, ambulances, and other facilities, leaving thousands of civilians dead or injured. 

Many of the places Russia’s forces has hit were clearly identified as civilian-use sites.  This includes the Mariupol maternity hospital … and a strike that hit a Mariupol theater, clearly marked with the word “дети” — Russian for “children” — in huge letters visible from the sky,” he said.

Blinken stated that the assessment was based on an in-depth review of information available from intelligence and public sources. The statement was made while President Joe Biden flew to Brussels, Belgium for NATO and G-7 Summits.

Blinken stated that Russia’s guilt and innocence will ultimately remain in the court of law. Although he didn’t mention the name of the International Criminal Court (ICC), he said that it is the most traditional court for cases involving alleged war crimes.

The United States does not belong to the ICC. It was created in 2002 for the prosecution of international war crimes and genocide. The United States at the time its foundation was underway in Afghanistan.

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