Biden’s Sec of State brings up Putin’s dead brother, accuses Russia of ‘starving’ Ukraine cities

Blinken is accusing Russia of "starving" besieged Ukrainian cities to Nazi Germany's siege of Russian cities during World War II, which killed Putin's one-year-old brother Viktor, ABC News reports.

Since Russia first began to invade Ukraine in late February, over 1.7 million Ukrainians have fled the country to seek refuge. The civilian death toll is estimated to be at 406, although according to the United Nations, the actual numbers are "much higher," ABC News reports.

Speaking on the vast increase in Ukrainian refugees, Blinken said "Many more people are trying to flee, but they cannot get out of besieged areas. ... Women and children, the elderly, wounded civilians, people with disabilities are trying to escape cities where there's no heat, no electricity, and where they're running out of food and medicine and there continue to be reports of attacks by Russian forces on agreed-upon humanitarian corridors."

The US Secretary of State said that these sieges resemble Nazi Germany's siege of Leningrad, where Nazi forces "systematically starved and intentionally destroyed" the city, which led to hundreds of thousands of deaths, according to ABC News.

"That siege affected millions of Russian families, including President Putin's, whose one-year-old brother was one of the many victims. Now, Russia is starving out cities like Mariupol. It is shameful. The world is saying to Russia stop these attacks immediately. Let the food and medicine in. Let the people out safely, and end this war of choice against Ukraine," Blinken said.

Putin's older brother Viktor died of diphtheria during the Nazi siege of Leningrad. Putin claims that his "special military operation" in Ukraine is about "de-Nazifying" the country's government, although Holocaust museums and memorials have denounced Putin's statements.