Putin should be recognised as war criminal, Ukrainian defence minister tells EU lawmakers

FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov attends the talks with Russian officials in the Gomel region, Belarus February 28, 2022. Sergei Kholodilin/BelTA/Handout via REUTERS

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov told European Union lawmakers on Wednesday that they should recognise Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal after Russia invaded Ukraine.

"I am appealing to all European parliamentary members to recognise that Putin is a war criminal, " Reznikov said via video link. He cited examples such as what he said was a Russian airstrike on a theatre on Wednesday where he said 1,200 women and children were sheltering.