US embassy in Ukraine calls attack on nuclear power plant a "war crime"
The U.S. embassy in Ukraine has called Russia's attack on a nuclear power plant a "war crime" after Russia seized control of Ukraine's nuclear facility, the largest in Europe, on Friday (March 4th).
The statement from the embassy's Twitter account was more harsh than previous US comments about Russia's actions since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
"Attacking a nuclear power plant is a war crime. "Putin's shelling of Europe's largest nuclear power plant has taken his terrorist regime one step further," a statement from the Kiev embassy said.
Russian invaders seize Europe's largest nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine. This has caused great concern around the world. However, the fire at the training building has been extinguished and officials say the plant is now safe.
Russia's Defense Ministry has blamed Ukrainian saboteurs for setting the plant on fire and said its forces were in control.
According to CNN, the State Department has sent a message to all US embassies in Europe. In the message, they asked the Kiev embassy not to retweet the tweet - which the embassy called a war crime. CNN further stated that they have reviewed the message.
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment by Reuters on whether the Kiev embassy's tweet revealed the overall position of the US government.
Human rights groups have accused Ukraine of violating international war crimes laws. This includes targeting civilians, as well as indiscriminate attacks on schools and hospitals.
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden refrained from calling Russia's actions a "war crime" and said "it would not be fair to say so soon."
On Friday, Pentagon spokesman John Kerby declined to comment, saying he would leave the decision to the International Criminal Court.
"This attack shows how reckless the Russian attack was and how indiscriminate their targets are. It will only escalate the potential catastrophe to a level that no one wants to see, "Kerby said in an interview with CNN.
"This is certainly not the behavior of a responsible nuclear power."
Britain has publicly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin's government of war crimes.
The International Criminal Court (ICC), the world's top war crimes tribunal, is investigating allegations of cluster bombs and artillery attacks on Ukrainian cities at the request of 39 member states.
Karim Khan, a British lawyer who joined the ICC as chief prosecutor last year, said: "The crisis in Ukraine has given us an opportunity to prove that those who have committed war crimes must be held accountable.
Deliberately targeting civilians and civilian installations is considered a war crime, a State Department spokesman told Reuters. He added that the State Department was in favor of the investigation, especially with Karim Khan in gathering evidence of possible atrocities.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov strongly denied allegations that Russian forces had attacked civilian infrastructure and residential buildings.
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