Russian ambassador: US trying to ‘demonize’ Moscow with crimes against humanity allegations

The determination that Russia has committed crimes against humanity in its war against Ukraine is an attempt to demonize Moscow, argued Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., blasting Biden administration officials just a day after Vice President Harris confirmed the findings.

“We consider such insinuations as an attempt, unprecedented in terms of its cynicism, to demonize Russia in the course of a hybrid war, unleashed against us,” Anatoly Antonov said in a statement on the messaging platform Telegram.

The Biden administration has formally concluded that Russia has committed crimes against humanity in its invasion of Ukraine, which Harris revealed in a speech on Saturday in Germany.

“The United States has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity, and I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes, and to their superiors, who are complicit in these crimes, you will be held to account,” Harris said.

The finding was further confirmed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who in a statement pointed out the “execution-style killings” of men, women and children.

“Based on a careful analysis of the law and available facts, I have determined that members of Russia’s forces and other Russian officials have committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine,” Blinken said. “These acts are not random or spontaneous; they are part of the Kremlin’s widespread and systematic attack against Ukraine’s civilian population.”

But Russian officials are pushing back against the finding by the U.S., arguing instead that it is the U.S. who had committed transgressions in the war.

“At one point the Americans said, that they would supply the republic with only defensive weapons, but now ship heavy armored vehicles, artillery, multiple launch rocket systems with long-range munitions,” Antonov said. “The U.S. provides intelligence to Kiev Nazis, trains militants.”