U.S. government formally accuses Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine

A damaged military vehicle is seen as civilians are evacuated along humanitarian corridors from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol under the control of Russian military and pro-Russian separatists, on March 21, 2022.

The United States government has determined that Russia committed war crimes in Ukraine, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The brutality in Mariupol, Ukraine, was compared to the Russian campaign against Grozny in the Second Chechen War and the Syrian civil war by Tony Blinken.

Russia's forces have destroyed apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, critical infrastructure, civilian vehicles, shopping centers, and ambulances, leaving thousands of innocent civilians dead or wounded.

Many of the sites Russia's forces have hit have been clearly identifiable as in-use by civilians.

This image made available by Azov Battalion, shows the drama theater, damaged after shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday March 17, 2022. Rescuers are searching for survivors in the ruins of a theater ripped apart by Russian airstrikes.

President Joe Biden was in the air on his way to the NATO and G-7 summits when he issued the statement.

The question of Russia's guilt or innocence would be left to a court of law. The traditional court of jurisdiction in cases of alleged war crimes is the International Criminal Court.

The United States isn't a member of the International Criminal Court. The U.S. was involved in a war in Afghanistan at the time of its founding.

People gather near a block of flats, which was destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine March 17, 2022.

The decision to release this assessment was not accidental. The White House has spent weeks preparing a long list of deliverables for Biden to bring with him to the summits.

Russia launched a brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is a descendant of Holocaust survivors.