The EU has proposed new sanctions against Russia, as US officials plan to announce theirs on Wednesday along with G7 and other partners. Several more European states have expelled Russian diplomats.
- Zelenskyy addresses UN Security Council
- EU's von der Leyen and Borrell to meet Zelenskyy in Kyiv
- Ukrainians warn of major attacks on Kharkiv, Luhansk
- US to announce more sanctions on Russia this week
US to ban 'all new investments' in Russia
The US government will ban "all new investments" in Russia, the White House announced.
Existing sanctions against Russian banks and state-owned firms will also be tightened, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. Additional details are expected to be announced on Wednesday.
"These measures will degrade key instruments of Russian state power and pose acute and immediate economic harm on Russia, and hold accountable the Russian kleptocracy that funds and supports Putin's war," Psaki said.
According to the White House, the sanctions will be introduced in coordination with the US' European allies and the G7 states.
UK freezes Russian 'war chest'
The British Foreign Ministry said that the UK had frozen some $350 billion (€321 billion) in assets of what she called Russian President Vladimir Putin's "war chest."
"So far, our sanctions have had a crippling impact on those who feed and fund Putin's war machine. This week we will announce that we've frozen over $350 billion of Putin's war chest," British Foreign Minister Liz Truss said.
This made up over 60% of Moscow's $604 billion (€554 billion) foreign currency reserves, Truss said.
Britain's foreign minister said that "coordinated sanctions are pushing the Russian economy back to the Soviet era."
Truss also called for a ban on Russian ships docking in Western ports and urged for curbs on the gold trade and on other industries that are "filling Putin's war chest."
International criminal lawyer: Genocidal intent 'is a high threshold to prove under international law'
"There's strong evidence to believe that war crimes have been perpetrated in Bucha and allegedly in other areas," lawyer Kateryna Busol told DW Tuesday. "There's also a possibility to claim the perpetration of crimes against humanity, which is a widespread or systematic attack against the civilian population. And indeed, there have been discussions about possible genocidal intent, which is a high threshold to prove under international law," she said.
Specialized in international criminal law, Busol, a Ukrainian who is currently an associate at the London-based think tank Chatham House, said: "Given certain statements by Russia's top leadership, one could derive, or at least one could start thinking about, such intention. And of course, in law, the presumption of innocence in criminal law is paramount. But certain images are deeply disturbing in terms of, you know, the civilians seen with burned bodies and tied hands and shot from behind."
'No safe place' for children in Ukraine
Amanda Brydon, global head of child protection policy and advocacy at Save the Children, told DW that there is "no safe place for children in Ukraine."
"For those in cities like Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol, explosive weapons have devastated vital infrastructure," Brydon said.
"Children who are separated and unaccompanied are at a significantly increased risk of violence, trafficking and abuse," Brydon said, referring to children displaced by the conflict.
"The risks also increase at border crossing and transit points," Brydon said.
"It's been very difficult to track how many children there are," she added.
Asked on what mechanisms are in place to protect children, Brydon said that "efforts are now being made to be coordinating between UN agencies and NGOs like Save the Children, as well as the authorities at border crossing points to set up a registration mechanism."
"We're lucky that some of these neighboring countries have very strong child protection services," Brydon said.
"The key for this mechanism is to be identifying those children and then making sure that they're linked up so that they get the support that they need."
"Children and their families are struggling to get food, heat their homes, find safety."
She went on to say that the "intensity" is lower in Western Ukraine, but that "hotels are booked out" and "air raid alarms are going off daily."