• Russia says it told U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan that President Joe Biden’s decision to label Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” has put “Russian-American relations on the verge of rupture.”
  • Biden said March 16 that he believes Russian leader Vladimir Putin “is a war criminal” for his attacks on Ukraine. It was the first time Biden had publicly branded Putin with that phrase.
  • The diplomatic breakdown comes as Russia nears the one month point in its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.