Russia's Putin Committed War Crimes in Ukraine: UK's PM Johnson

Photo Credit: By Ben Shread / Cabinet Office

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of war crimes in Ukraine by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

As he attacks a sovereign nation, he underestimates the astonishing fortitude of the Ukrainian people as well as the unity and determination of the free world to stand up to him."

At the Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on March 2, Johnson said, “What we have seen already from Vladimir Putin’s regime in the use of the munitions that they have already been dropping on innocent civilians, in my view, already fully qualifies as a war crime.”

He said the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is already investigating events in Ukraine and, “I am sure the whole House will support that.”

The prime minister had a phone call with the Ukrainian president earlier in the day, promising additional support and arms to the forces fighting Russian aggression.

In the coming days, officials of the UK government fear that president Putin will use even greater force against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

Russian artillery and air strikes continue to target built-up areas, primarily in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mariupol, and Chernihiv, according to a recent intelligence update from the Ministry of Defence.

2 March 2022