Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday stopped short of characterizing Russia’s attacks against civilians as war crimes, saying the matter is under review, but called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to "cease these horrible actions."
Austin, during a press conference with Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad in Slovakia on Thursday, was asked whether Russia’s actions in Ukraine – specifically against civilians – are considered war crimes.
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"Well, certainly we’ve all been shocked by the brutality that we continue to witness day in and day out," Austin said. "These attacks that we’ve seen most recently appear to be focused directly on civilians."
Biden went further than Austin on Wednesday when he said that Putin was a "war criminal."
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a news conference in the Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic in Bratislava, Slovakia, March 17, 2022. (Reuters/Radovan Stoklasa)
"Of course, you know, if you attack civilians on purpose, target civilians purposely, then that’s not – that is a crime," Austin said. "So, these actions are under review by our State Department, and, of course, there will be and there’s a process that will go through to review all of this."
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Slovakian Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad arrive for a ceremony in Bratislava, Slovakia, Thursday, March 17, 2022. (Pavel Neubauer/TASR via AP)
Biden, on Wednesday, had initially said "no" when asked by Fox News if he considered Putin a war criminal, but circled back approximately 30 seconds later and said, "Did you ask me whether I would call… Oh, I, I think he is a war criminal."
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting outside Moscow, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP)
Biden condemned Russia’s invasion on Wednesday, and announced that the U.S. was sending $800 million in military aid to Ukraine. That package includes anti-aircraft, anti-armor weapons, body armor, guns and drones.
"Putin is inflicting appalling, appalling devastation and horror on Ukraine, bombing apartment buildings, maternity wards, hospitals. I mean, it's God awful," Biden said. "The world is united in our support for Ukraine and our determination to make Putin pay a very heavy price."
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing that the president's remarks "speak for themselves," but added that a legal process is still underway at the State Department.
"He was speaking from his heart and speaking from what we’ve seen on television, which is barbaric actions by a brutal dictator through his invasion of a foreign country," Psaki said.
A spokesperson for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, responded by saying that Biden's comments were "unforgivable," according to the Russian media outlet TASS.
"We consider unacceptable and unforgivable such rhetoric of the head of state, whose bombs killed hundreds of thousands of people around the world," Peskov said.
Until Wednesday, Biden had resisted calling the Russian president a war criminal, even as multiple lawmakers called for Putin to be investigated for war crimes.
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On Tuesday evening, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a measure to investigate Putin and other Russian officials for "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity."
Russia's military attacked a theater in Mariupol on Wednesday where "hundreds of innocent civilians were hiding," Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
Russian forces have also been accused of using cluster munitions and vacuum bombs in the war, which violate international law when used indiscriminately against civilians.
About 700 civilians have been killed since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, but the United Nations says the actual number is likely much higher.
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The International Criminal Court said earlier this month that it is opening an investigation into potential war crimes by Putin in his invasion of Ukraine.
Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich and Paul Best contributed to this report.
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