EXPLAINER: Who’s a war criminal, and who gets to decide?

By COLLEEN LONG, MIKE CORDER and ERIC TUCKER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has flatly called Russia’s Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” for the unfolding onslaught in Ukraine, where hospitals and maternity wards have been bombed. But declaring someone a war criminal is not as simple as saying the words. There are set definitions and processes for determining who’s a war criminal and deciding how they should be punished. The White House had been avoiding calling Putin a war criminal, saying that the designation requires investigation and an international determination. After Biden used the term Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president was “speaking from his heart.”