Biden: Putin should face war crimes trial for Bucha killings

President Joe Biden on Monday called for a war crimes trial against Russian President Vladimir Putin and said he’d seek more sanctions after reported atrocities in Ukraine.

“You saw what happened in Bucha,” Biden said. He added that Putin “is a war criminal”

Biden’s comments to reporters came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Bucha, one of the towns surrounding Kyiv where Ukrainian officials say the bodies of civilians have been found. Zelenskyy called the Russian actions “genocide” and called for the West to apply tougher sanctions against Russia.

Biden, however, stopped short of calling the actions genocide.

The bodies of 410 civilians have been removed from Kyiv-area towns that were recently retaken from Russian forces, Ukraine’s prosecutor-general, Iryna Venediktova, said. Associated Press journalists saw the bodies of at least 21 people in various spots around Bucha, northwest of the capital.

Every time Anna Beach sees another dead body on the news she wonders, what if one of those bodies belongs to a person she loves? “I speak to my father once in the morning, once at night, just to make sure that they’re still alive,” said Beach.

Anna now lives in Fort Myers. Her father, his wife, and her cousins are all in Ukraine. They see the smoke, hear the sirens and smell the bodies.

“I know, sometimes my dad can’t go to the phone right away. And I understand that, logically, it may be just because he didn’t hear it. But internally, I already think of the worst-case scenario,” said Beach.

Her fear is understandable. Harrowing new reports indicate Russian troops killed hundreds of civilians execution-style over the weekend with their hands tied behind their backs.

“I don’t know if you can call Russian army people. I don’t know what you call that. That’s pure evil,” said Beach.

“It’s just unreal. 21st century. Evil in the worst meaning of the word,” said Ukrainian Pastor Viktor Antipov.

Antipov is a pastor at the House of Mercy church in North Port. He believes that no matter what, there is always Jesus, there’s always hope, but that does not mean there is no evil.

“I believe this is a wake-up call for the whole world. This is not just about war between two nations. But there is evil going on. It’s not less it’s more and more every day,” said Antipov.

“We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue the fight. And we have to gather all the detail so this can be an actual — have a war crimes trial,” Biden said.

Biden lashed out at Putin as “brutal.”

“What’s happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyone sees it,” Biden added.