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Nancy Pelosi has demanded that Russia be held responsible for “atrocities against children” and “using the rape of women as a weapon of war” in Ukraine.
The Speaker of the House, who appeared at the G7 summit in Berlin, tore into Vladimir Putin’s regime over the brutal invasion of the country.
She said it must face heinous crimes such as weaponizing hunger by the rest of the world.
Pelosi also accidentally revealed that she was planning a trip to Armenia and praised the billions in aid the US has poured into Ukraine.
It comes as fighting continues as Kiev’s forces launch a crushing counter-offensive towards its eastern and southern borders.
“Russia must be held accountable, responsible for the atrocities they commit against small children,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday before talks with Germany’s foreign minister.
Pelosi made her remarks at a G7 speaker meeting in Berlin, where she inadvertently revealed she was planning a trip to Armenia and praised the billions in aid the US has poured into Ukraine.
“Russia must be held accountable, held accountable for the atrocities they commit against small children, using rape as a weapon of war, starvation as an instrument of war, and so on, but they must be held accountable,” she said.
“And it was encouraging to hear how Ukraine is documenting the crimes against humanity that are now taking place there,” she said, citing investigations into what was discovered after the Russians were evicted from Buccha and other cities.
She spoke after Ukraine made significant territorial gains after cutting Russian positions in the northeast and south of the country.
It was her biggest statement on the diplomatic scene since her trip to Taiwan, infuriating Beijing and prompting China to launch a series of military exercises and other actions the US called “provocative.”
She also used the US and allies to rebuild Ukraine, which has been bombarded with Russian munitions, often “dumb” bombs rather than precision weapons, as well as apparently deliberate attacks on infrastructure.
And Ukraine must be rebuilt. In Congress, we’ve had ‘seize and freeze’ in the House. Grab the assets – the Russian assets, freeze the assets and use them to rebuild Ukraine. It’s going to cost a lot of money. Hopefully it will be soon when the guns are quiet, but we should be ready when they are,” she said.
Pelosi met with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during a G7 speaking summit. Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk of Ukraine, President Bärbel Bas of the German Bundestag and President Roberta Metsola of the European Parliament were also present
Pelosi called out Russian ‘atrocities’ in Ukraine
She accused Russia of using rape as a weapon of war
Rescuers remove debris from a building destroyed in a Russian missile attack on central Dnipro, central Ukraine
Russian attacks have shut down infrastructure and killed civilians. Here a Ukrainian National Guard walks on the destroyed Russian APCs at the checkpoint near the newly recaptured area of Izium, Ukraine, Thursday, September 15
She said there’ssolidarity in the G7, enthusiasm to make sure we do everything possible,” and pointed to votes in Congress for a total of $50 billion in aid.
The Pentagon said on Friday that military aid has now reached $15 billion since February.
Pelosi wondered if she would call on her own government to do more and if Germany would take a ‘leadership role’.
Germany was notified for announcing it would violate its long-standing post-war tradition and send military aid beyond its borders, but was also pressured by Ukraine for being slow with deliveries.
Pelosi did not mention Germany where she spoke in her answer.
‘Thank you for your question. And it gives me the opportunity to recognize the leadership of our President, President Biden. He is personally, day by day, hour by hour, very concerned about what is happening in Ukraine,” she said, again pointing to $50 billion in aid.
We all know that the Ukrainians are fighting to preserve not only their democracy, but ours as well. It’s a small price to pay, as I said, for us while we go about our business and worry about the price of energy and everything else,” she said.
Pelosi was asked about a Saturday trip to Armenia, where she apparently plans to consider a two-day ceasefire after fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.
“I was not aware that my travel plans were in the public domain. Oh, you heard me. Oh okay, okay. Well, tomorrow we’re going to Armenia anyway, because we’ve been getting an invitation from the Armenians all the time,’ she said. She said she didn’t want to discuss the details of her visit.