Ned Price. Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta - Pool/AFP via Getty Images
The U.S. will likely take additional actions against Russia "very soon," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during an appearance on MSNBC's "The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart."
Driving the news: Price was asked about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's request for G7 nations to step up pressure following news of the situation in Bucha, Ukraine, where images have emerged of dead civilians left in the streets in the wake of Russia's retreat from the city, per CNN.
- Price called the images "heart-wrenching," later adding, "we have already assessed that Russia's forces have committed war crimes."
- "What we're doing, we are collecting information. 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.
What they're saying: "When it comes to our sanctions, we've always said that we will continue applying pressure on President [Vladimir] 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," Price said.
- "So I suspect you will very soon see additional pressure applied," he added.
Worth noting: German officials signaled on Sunday that more sanctions are coming against Russia.
- "Putin and his supporters will feel the consequences" of their actions, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday, while German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said the EU should discuss banning Russian gas imports, Reuters reported.
Lithuania on Sunday became the first EU country to ban Russian gas imports.
Go deeper: Zelensky: "This is genocide"