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A columnist with Russian state-run outlet Pravda is turning the tables on President Joe Biden by insinuating he is the real war criminal in the Ukrainian invasion.
As the war in Ukraine continues, there has been a propaganda push by Russian media to say that their invasion was a result of actions by the United States and Ukraine. Pravda, which is officially run by Russia's Communist Party, has become well-known for spreading misinformation regarding the hostilities.
While Friday's article in question was an opinion piece by a columnist, and not advertised as "news," its stance appears to be in line with other anti-American stories that have been published by Pravda.
Much of the column focused on the fact that Biden has previously called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "war criminal" because of his country's aggression in Ukraine.
"[Putin is] a war criminal for what?" the column rhetorically asked. "For avoiding civilian areas and concentrating on military targets? For destroying the billions of dollars of U.S. weaponry sold to Ukraine in 48 hours? Nobody likes armed conflict but being the President of a country whose armed forces are engaged in an operation does not equate to being a war criminal."
While the article—as well as Russian officials—have claimed that their forces are not targeting civilians, this is contrary to numerous reports that have emerged out of Ukraine. This includes reports of Russian airstrikes bombing hospitals, schools, home, and a theater that had reportedly been sheltering up to 1,200 civilians.
Despite these reports, the Pravda article claimed that the real war criminal was President Biden due to his previous stance on the Iraq War.
"How many Iraqis lost their lives directly or indirectly through the war that Biden supported...so who is the war criminal?" the story said.
While Biden did vote for the Iraq War as a senator in 2002, he has called this decision "a mistake." Biden has said that his vote for military action in Iraq was an attempt to "prevent a war from happening."
The Pravda article continued by saying that the president is "Russophobic" and "knows nothing of world events." The story also asserted that Biden "cannot even stand up straight [and] cannot speak coherently."
This claim goes against the annual medical report released this past November by the president's doctor. In that report, Biden was described as "a healthy, vigorous, 78-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the president."
The Pravda article is one of a number of stories, opinion or otherwise, that have attempted to turn the Russian people against the United States and Biden.
It also appears, based on polling from Russia, the disinformation campaign might be working.
This includes polls from the Levada Center, which the London School of Economics described as "the most reputable public opinion data available in Russia." In a poll conducted this past February, the center said that 60 percent of Russians blamed the United States and NATO for the Ukrainian conflict, not their own country.
Additionally, the center said that Putin had seen a 13 percent increase in his approval rating since December 2021, as the tensions with Ukraine continued to heighten.
Only four percent of Russians felt that Russia itself was to blame for the war, according to the poll.
Newsweek reached out to the White House and the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C. for comment.
