U.S. officials have received “very credible reports of deliberate attacks on civilians” in Ukraine at the hands of Russian forces, Secretary of State Antony Blinken disclosed on Sunday which Businessinsider reported.
“We’ve seen very credible reports of deliberate attacks on civilians which would constitute a war crime. We’ve seen very credible reports about the use of certain weapons,” Blinken told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine entered its 11th day on Sunday.
Although, Putin initially announced he would not target civilians during his invasion of Ukraine, but since then, the Russian soldiers have indiscriminately bombed multiple cities, hospitals, and an orphanage with civilian fatalities.
Defense officials said on Saturday that the Russian offensive targets civilians in order to “break morale.”
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“What we’re doing right now is documenting all of this, putting it all together, looking at it and making sure that, as people and the appropriate organizations and institutions investigate whether war crimes have been or are being committed,” Blinken said. “They’re very credible and we’re documenting everything.”
Despite the second cease-fire planned for Mariupol, Russian troops did not abide by their word. They have continued to deliver “heavy shelling” as civilians fled through designated safe routes.
