Zelenskyy warns deaths in Bucha, beyond will be 'much more than ...

“Much more than we know now.”President Joe Biden again called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal,” saying reports from Bucha are “brutal” and “outrageous.” Zelenskyy said new sanctions from the West would not be “enough” to respond to the brutality that Ukrainians say happened in Bucha, near Kyiv, where grisly images are purported to show slain civilians.Residents of Bucha have accused Russian forces of targeting civilians in a deadly campaign that Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk said left more than 300 people dead before troops pulled out of the city. We will no longer tolerate this,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement.Government officials said they reported the declaration to the Russian ambassador Monday afternoon.“We will further tighten the existing sanctions against Russia, we will resolutely increase our support for the Ukrainian armed forces, and we will also strengthen NATO’s eastern flank,” Baerbock said.Abigail WilliamsThe U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said 140 U.N. members have already voted to condemn Russia over the war on Ukraine.NBC NewsCourtney KubeThe number of Russian airstrikes on Ukraine has declined in recent days, and the Russians have “reprioritized” their air activity, a senior defense official said. Noting peace talks that recently took place in Istanbul, he said: "it is very difficult to negotiate when you see what they have done here." Still, he said that the longer peace talks are delayed "the worse it is for (Russia), and in principle for this situation, this war, because every day our troops come in and de-occupy the territories." NBC NewsReutersRussian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Monday introducing visa restrictions for citizens of countries that Moscow deems “unfriendly” in response to sanctions over Ukraine.The decree, which comes into force Monday, suspends Russia’s simplified visa issuance regime with some European Union countries, as well as Norway, Switzerland, Denmark and Iceland.It also ordered the Russian foreign ministry and other bodies to decide on introducing personal entry restrictions on “foreign citizens and stateless people who commit unfriendly actions against Russia, its citizens or its legal entities.”It comes after the Russian government last month approved a list of unfriendly countries including the United States, Canada, Britain, E.U. states and Ukraine, among others.Patrick SmithThe United States is pushing for Russia's removal from the United Nations Human Rights Council, its ambassador to the U.N. said Monday.Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Monday that the U.S. would seek Russia's suspension in light of what it called mounting evidence of war crimes "following horrific reports about violence against civilians in Bucha." Thomas-Greenfield made the comments during a meeting with the Romanian prime minister, Nicolae Ciucă. “We support the investigation by the International Criminal Court prosecutor and will advance as a matter of urgency the work on further sanctions against the Kremlin’s war machinery,” it said in a tweet Monday.Ukraine's defense ministry said Sunday that 410 dead bodies were found in "the liberated districts of Kyiv region," including Bucha and Irpin.Ayumi FujimotoFrench President Emmanuel Macron said Monday there were “clear indications” that Russia was responsible for killing civilians in Bucha, adding that this amounted to "strong evidence of war crimes."In an interview with France Inter radio, Macron also called for another round of punishing sanctions against the Kremlin.Macron said Sunday on Twitter that the images coming out of Bucha were “unbearable." Russian forces have retreated from the war-torn city, leaving in their wake a mass of what appeared to be civilian fatalities.Macron faces re-election this month.Ayumi FujimotoThe United Nations human rights chief has said she is "horrified" by images purported to show the bodies of civilians Ukrainian officials say were slain by Russian forces in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv. "Reports emerging from this and other areas raise serious and disturbing questions about possible war crimes as well as grave breaches of international humanitarian law and serious violations of international human rights law," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement Monday.The U.N. human rights chief said it was essential that all bodies be exhumed and identified so victims' families can be informed and so the exact cause of death can be established.She further said it is "vital that all efforts are made to ensure there are independent and effective investigations into what happened in Bucha to ensure truth, justice and accountability, as well as reparations and remedy for victims and their families."Russia has denied Ukraine's claims that hundreds of civilians were killed in Bucha by its forces. In a statement Monday, Russia’s Investigative Committee said it was looking into Ukraine’s claims, as well as images shared by Ukrainian officials that it said aimed to “discredit the Russian military personnel.” Russia has rejected the claim that its forces killed civilians in Bucha, despite photos and video appearing to show bodies on city streets as its troops pulled out of Bucha and other cities near Kyiv. It has rejected all claims of targeting civilians in Ukraine since it launched its invasion in late February.Chantal Da SilvaThe Kremlin has doubled down on its rejection of accusations from Ukraine that Russian forces killed hundreds of civilians in the city of Bucha, near Kyiv.On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia "categorically" rejects "any accusations" and said Ukraine's claims "must be seriously questioned," Russian state news agency TASS reported.Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called photos purported to show the dead bodies of civilians on Bucha's streets “staged." Russia has consistently denied targeting civilians since it launched its invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities on Sunday accused the departing forces of committing war crimes and leaving behind a “scene from a horror movie.”As images of the bodies — of people whom residents said were killed indiscriminately — began to emerge from Bucha, a slew of European leaders condemned the atrocities and called for tougher sanctions against Moscow.Ukraine’s prosecutor-general says the bodies of 410 civilians have been removed from Kyiv-area towns that were recently retaken from Russian forces.Read the full story here.© 2022 NBC UNIVERSAL