U.S.-Russia relations were "on the brink" Monday when the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. ambassador and handed over a note of protest over "unacceptable" comments made by President Joe Biden.
Biden said he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin was a war criminal for his troops' actions during the unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
"Russian Foreign Ministry summons US ambassador," tweeted Russian state-owned media RT. "Biden's unacceptable statements about President Putin have put Russia-US relations on the brink, Moscow stated."
Biden called Putin a "war criminal" Wednesday as civilian deaths mounted in Ukraine, CNN reported.
"Such statements from the American president, unworthy of a statesman of such high rank, put Russian-American relations on the verge of rupture," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
It was the harshest condemnation of Putin's actions from any U.S. official since the war in Ukraine began three weeks ago. Previously, Biden had stopped short of calling atrocities being documented on the ground in Ukraine as "war crimes," citing ongoing international and U.S. investigations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Biden's characterization of Putin as a war criminal was "unacceptable and unforgivable rhetoric," Tass news agency said.
Speaking at the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon on St. Patrick's Day at Capitol Hill, Biden said Putin was "a murderous dictator, a pure thug who is waging an immoral war against the people of Ukraine."
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