The Pentagon on Friday (April 29) accused Vladimir Putin of “depravity” and “cruelty” in the behavior of Russian forces in Ukraine, where they are accused of killing civilians, including children.
Asked during a press conference about the psychological state of the Russian president at this stage of the conflict, US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby appeared on the verge of tears as he mentioned the atrocities attributed to Russian forces.
“It’s hard to look at certain images and imagine that any serious leader could do that,” said John Kirby. I don’t know his mental state but I think we can talk about his depravity.
As a reminder, Vladimir Putin’s arguments for invading Ukraine were that this war was intended to protect the Russian minority in Ukraine from “Ukrainian Nazism”. Remarks flagged as “bullshit” by speaker. For him, it is “difficult to reconcile this rhetoric with what he is doing in Ukraine with innocent people being shot in the neck, with their hands tied behind their backs, with women, pregnant women killed, hospitals bombed. It’s just unacceptable,” added John Kirby. In a short time since the invasion began, the American politician has become one of the most important faces of the government with daily press briefings and is now on a Moscow-sanctioned list of American figures.
A surprising level of violence
The spokesman acknowledged that despite the brutality of previous Russian military operations, such as in Chechnya or Syria, Washington did not expect such violence against Ukrainian civilians.
“We knew that Mr. Putin was capable of defending Russia’s national interests coldly and with brutal determination,” he said. We didn’t really realize how much violence he would use on innocent, non-combatant civilians.”
Ukraine and Western countries have accused Russia of “massacres” and “war crimes” since hundreds of bodies were discovered in several locations in the Kyiv region occupied by Russian forces in March.