!["He's a war criminal," US President Joe Biden has said of Russia's president as he left an event. "He's a war criminal," US President Joe Biden has said of Russia's president as he left an event.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-feed-data/d6c6c3f0-55ca-405e-8e59-ed3c609d4bb1.jpg/r0_0_800_600_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
US President Joe Biden has called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal as the atrocities in Ukraine mount and the president there begged the US Congress for more help.
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"He's a war criminal," Biden said of Putin as he left an unrelated event.
It is the sharpest condemnation yet of Putin and Russian actions by a US official since the invasion of Ukraine.
While other world leaders have used the words, the White House had been hesitant to declare Putin's actions those of a war criminal, saying it was a legal term that required research.
But in a speech on Wednesday, Biden said Russian troops had bombed hospitals and held doctors hostage.
He pledged more aid to help Ukraine fight Russia.
Australian Associated Press