The U.S. government accuses Russian forces of war crimes.

The U.S. government has formally concluded that Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in a statement on Wednesday.

The finding lends official weight to expressions of revulsion about Russia’s military conduct from top U.S. officials, including President Biden, who last week called Russian President Vladimir V. Putin “a war criminal.”

But the statement did not mention Mr. Putin himself, saying only that “members of Russia’s forces” had committed such crimes. State Department officials declined to say whether their findings might implicate Mr. Putin.

Russia has denied its military has purposely targeted civilians, but witness accounts, news reports and photos, videos and satellite imagery demonstrate that Russian forces have increasingly been aiming bombs, rockets and missiles at towns and cities and destroying apartment buildings, schools, factories and hospitals. Read more

@nytimes