Biden calls atrocities in Ukraine a 'genocide' for the first time

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the atrocities being uncovered in Ukraine qualify as genocide, a designation he'd previously avoided but that he now believes is warranted as scenes of devastation emerge from towns once overrun by Russian troops, reported from CNN.

"I called it genocide because it's become clearer and clearer that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is just trying to wipe out even the idea of being Ukrainian. The evidence is mounting," Biden told reporters in Iowa after using the term earlier in a speech.

"It's different than it was last week, the more evidence that's coming out," he continued. "Literally, the horrible things that the Russians have done in Ukraine -- and we're going to only learn more and more about the devastation."

"We'll let the lawyers decide, internationally, whether or not it qualifies," he concluded, "but it sure seems that way to me."

"Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide a half a world away," Biden said in Iowa, where he was unveiling a new rule on ethanol.

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