WASHINGTON – For the first time since Moscow declared war on Kiev on February 24, US Vice President Joe Biden called to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "war criminal" for "inflicting horrific damage and agony on Ukraine."

According to the BBC, Biden made the statements when replying to a reporter's inquiry at the White House on Wednesday.

When a reporter asked if he was willing to label Putin a "war criminal," Biden said, "Did you ask me whether I would tell....?" Oh, I'm very sure he's a war criminal." "Putin is unleashing terrible destruction and horror on Ukraine - attacking residential buildings and maternity wards," Trump claimed later in a tweet. "We read allegations yesterday that Russian soldiers were holding hundreds of doctors and patients captive. These are crimes against humanity. It is a worldwide scandal." According to the BBC, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki claimed in a statement that Biden's labelling of Putin as a "war criminal" came as the US President was "speaking from his heart" after viewing "barbaric" photos of the violence in Ukraine, "rather than making any official announcement."

She pointed out that a separate judicial process, overseen by the State Department, was in place to decide war crimes, and that it was still ongoing.

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