Biden calls Russia’s war in Ukraine a ‘genocide’ for the first time: LIVE UPDATES

Former Russian President and deputy head of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev has hinted at the possibility that Russia may soon re-legalize the death penalty, according to reports by the Russian media outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda.

Medvedev’s statement comes after Russia broke away from the Council of Europe last month, which forced the country into a moratorium on the death penalty.

Medvevdev also claimed that members of the Russian military have been subjected to torture when captured by Ukrainian forces, saying there have been incidents where Russian service members have had their throats slit and been shot in the knee.

But according to author and former DIA intelligence officer Rebekah Koffler, Medvedev’s statement is another example of Russia’s attempt to spread disinformation.

“Moscow is running another disinformation operation to normalize the death penalty narrative while seeking a justification to use it against captured Ukrainian military personnel or members of the national opposition,” Koffler told Fox News on Tuesday. “Putin recently invoked Stalin-era ‘red terror’ tactics, calling on Russian citizens to hand over suspected traitors to Russian authorities.

“He wants to strike fear into both Russians and Ukrainians who may see anti-Russian government activities as protests.”

The presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia plan to visit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in kyiv, Estonian President Alar Karis tweeted Wednesday morning along with photos of the leaders at a train station.

“On my way to kyiv, to a city that has suffered terribly from the Russian war since my last visit,” Karis wrote. “Together with presidents @AndrzejDuda, @GitanasNauseda and @valstsgriba we visit #Ukraine to show strong support to the people, we will meet with dear friend president @ZelenskyyUa #SlavaUkraini.”

Russia’s appointment of Army General Alexander Dvornikov to lead the war in Ukraine is an attempt by the country to “centralize command and control”, the UK Defense Ministry said in an update on Wednesday morning.

“The inability to cohere and coordinate military activity has hampered the invasion of Russia to date,” the update said.

Dvornikov has prior command experience in Syria and on Russia’s southern border with eastern Ukraine since 2016.

“Russian messages have recently emphasized the progress of offensives in the Donbas as Russian forces refocus eastward,” the update added. “Dvornikov’s selection further demonstrates how determined Ukrainian resistance and ineffective pre-war planning have forced Russia to reassess its operations.”

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said Wednesday morning that he was on his way to kyiv to send a “strong message of political support and military assistance.”

“Lithuania will continue to support Ukraine’s struggle for its sovereignty and freedom,” he added.

Ukraine said on Tuesday that Viktor Medvedchuk, a pro-Putin Ukrainian politician who was under house arrest on suspicion of treason but escaped during the invasion, had been recaptured.

He was arrested in a special operation carried out by the Ukrainian secret service.

In his late-night video address to the nation on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed that Russia could win Medvedchuk’s freedom by exchanging Ukrainians now being held in Russian prisons.

Medvedchuk was the former leader of a pro-Putin political party and Putin is godfather to his youngest daughter.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday morning that Russian troops were continuing to attack civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhya and that attacks on the besieged city of Mariupol, where the government said thousands of people have been killed, are continuing.

In the disputed eastern part of Ukraine, Ukrainian forces successfully countered six Russian attacks in the past 24 hours and “two units of auto equipment and three opponent’s artillery systems were destroyed.”

Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, describes military technology that may benefit Ukraine in the war against Russia in ‘The Story.’

Putin says the invasion is going according to plan despite mounting evidence to the contrary and the government’s admission of heavy losses among Russian troops.

He also said that the invasion would continue until its objectives had been met.

Russian troops have withdrawn from kyiv in the face of Ukraine’s surprisingly strong defense and are concentrating instead on the eastern part of the country.

Russia invaded on February 24 with the aim, according to Western officials, of taking the capital kyiv, overthrowing the government and installing a pro-Moscow regime. In the six weeks that followed, the ground advance stalled, with Russian forces potentially losing thousands of fighters and being accused of killing civilians and other atrocities.

Putin claimed he had to invade to protect people in the Russian-backed Donbas region of eastern Ukraine and for Russia’s security.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Biden called the actions of Russian forces in Ukraine “genocide” for the first time on Tuesday, a classification he had previously avoided using.

“I called it genocide because it has become increasingly clear that Putin is only trying to eliminate even the idea of ​​being Ukrainian. The evidence is mounting,” Biden told reporters after appearing to refer to the term on Tuesday.

In comments on inflation early Tuesday, Biden said the prices Americans pay should not depend on whether a dictator “commits genocide” against another country, an apparent targeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his decision to invade Ukraine. .

“We’ll let the lawyers decide, internationally, whether he qualifies or not,” Biden clarified later in his response to reporters in Iowa, “but it sure seems that way to me.”

Click here to read more about Fox News.

Click here for Tuesday’s live coverage.