US 'Likely' to Ramp Up Sanctions Pressure Against Russia After Zelensky's Pleas

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded for the G7 nations to increase sanctions pressure on Russia for its special military operation in the country and the "war crimes" Russian troops allegedly committed. Moscow has always denied war crimes and emphasised that only Ukrainian troops use civilians as cover.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Sunday said the country will likely take additional sanctions against Russia "very soon".

During an appearance on MSNBC's "The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart", Price emphasised that the State Department was "collecting information" on the "atrocities" the Russian military has supposedly committed in Ukraine.

"One, to shine a spotlight on precisely what they're doing, but two, to ensure that all of those who have perpetrated these atrocities and all of those who ordered these atrocities are held to account. That's our mission", he said.

"We are collecting information... to ensure all of those who have perpetrated these atrocities and all of those who ordered these atrocities are held to account." @StateDeptSpox on if there have been any war crimes in Ukraine #SundayShow pic.twitter.com/plouZ1rN5G

— The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart (@TheSundayShow) April 3, 2022

Speaking about sanctions measures, the spokesman went on to say that "[...] we've always said that we will continue applying pressure on President Putin, on the Kremlin, on all of those around him, including oligarchs and cronies, who are empowering this war of choice against Ukraine, until and unless the Kremlin deescalates, until and unless the violence diminishes, and until and unless these kinds of atrocities come to an end".

"So I suspect you will very soon see additional pressure applied", he added.

The suggestion followed reports of the situation in Bucha, Ukraine, where footage of dead civilians scattered around in the streets had emerged.

Earlier, the Ukrainian media and authorities had accused Russia of committing "genocide", and a number of politicians called for the extermination of Russians in general. The country's President Volodymyr Zelensky even, when addressing Russian mothers, swore at them for raising "b***ards".

One of the shared videos allegedly filmed in Bucha, showed the bodies of the dead lying on a road. However, some netizens were divided over a portion of the clip, which allegedly showed one of the bodies move its hand in order for it not to be trampled under the wheels of vehicles. Others, on the other hand, said that the purported hand movement was nothing more than a stain on the car's windshield.

The Russian Ministry of Defence categorically rejected any cruelty, and even more so, the killing of civilians in the city, also referring to the troops having left Bucha on 30 March, the next day the mayor of the city announced its "full liberation" and did not mention any executions, but "evidence" of atrocities appeared only four days later.

In addition, the attention of some was also riveted by the fact that in the photos that went viral on social networks, next to the corpses, can be seen Russian Army food rations that the troops distributed to the residents of the occupied areas. Ukrainian nationalists, on the other hand, regularly urged the population on social networks not to accept help from the Russians, regarding this as "treason".

On Sunday, Russia's mission to the UN requested a meeting of the Security Council on Monday in light of "a blatant provocation by Ukrainian radicals".

Despite the lack of an independent investigation into the incident, many Western leaders blamed Russia for the incident and called for increased sanctions.

For instance, German, Italian, and British officials hinted that further sanctions against Russia are on the way. In the meantime, Lithuania became the first EU country to impose a ban on Russian gas imports on Sunday.

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