(AP) – President Joe Biden has for the first time referred to Russia’s invasion in Ukraine as a “genocide.” The conflict has seen Russia carry out atrocities against Ukrainian civilians. Speaking in Iowa at an event Tuesday about steps his administration is taking to staunch rising fuel costs because of the war, Biden said Russian troops have committed “genocide.” Biden said, “Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide a half a world away.” Biden has previously stated that he did not believe Russia’s actions amounted to genocide, but rather were “war crimes.”