Russia-Ukraine updates: US sanctions Russian military shipbuilder, diamond miner

Russia's largest military shipbuilding and diamond mining firms were targeted.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Nadine El-Bawab, Ivan Pereira, Julia Jacobo, Meredith Deliso, Bill Hutchinson, Kevin Shalvey, Celia Darrough, Mary Kekatos, and Samara Lynn
Last Updated: April 4, 2022, 1:07 PM EDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation” into Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with troops crossing the border from Belarus and Russia. Moscow's forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.

Russian forces retreated last week from the Kyiv suburbs, leaving behind a trail of destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, U.S. and European officials accused Russian troops of committing war crimes.

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Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Apr 04, 2022, 1:07 PM EDT

Germany to expel a 'significant' number of Russian diplomats

Germany's foreign minister said Monday that her country is moving to expel a "significant" number of Russian diplomats following reports that Russian troops killed more than 400 civilians in the Ukraine city of Bucha.

"The pictures from Bucha bear witness to the unbelievable brutality of the Russian leadership and of those who follow its propaganda, to a will to annihilate that transcends all borders. We have to fear similar pictures from many other places that Russian troops have occupied in Ukraine," Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement.

A grave site, an approximatly 45-foot trench, in the southwestern section of the Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints in Bucha, Ukraine is seen March 31.
Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies

Baerbock added that Germany is opposed to the inhumanity alleged in Bucha and must stand for freedom and be prepared to defend it. Baerbock said Germany, therefore, has decided to declare a significant number of the Russian diplomats persona non grata.

A mass grave is seen behind the Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints in the town of Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on April 3, 2022.
Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

She said the Russian ambassador to Germany was informed of the decision on Monday afternoon.

Germany will also take further action against Russia together with allies, tightening existing sanctions, increasing support for Ukraine's armed forces and strengthening the NATO eastern flank.

The statement and corresponding tweet from Baerbock does not say how many diplomats will be expelled.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

Apr 04, 2022, 11:56 AM EDT

ICRC team blocked from entering Mariupol again, 'being held' in nearby town

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Monday that its staff has been blocked again from entering Mariupol after failing to reach the besieged Ukrainian port city for several days.

In this photo taken in Irpin, Ukraine, on April 1, 2022, a vehicle belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is seen on a damaged street as the organization delivers food and first aid to residents.
ICRC via Reuters

An ICRC team tasked with escorting evacuation buses to and from Mariupol "was stopped on Monday while carrying out humanitarian efforts to help lead a safe passage corridor for civilians" and is now "being held in the town of Manhush," about 12 miles west of Mariupol, according to an ICRC spokesperson.

"The ICRC has been in direct contact with our colleagues and is speaking with the parties on all sides to bring clarity to the situation and allow them to resume their humanitarian work," the spokesperson told ABC News in a statement.

-ABC News' Brian Hartman

Apr 04, 2022, 11:37 AM EDT

Biden to call for more sanctions against Russia over Bucha 'war crimes'

U.S. President Joe Biden said Monday that he is seeking more sanctions against Russia after horrific images surfaced of dead civilians lying in the bombed-out streets of Bucha, Ukraine.

Upon his return to the White House from Fort McNair, Biden said he will call for more sanctions but stopped short of accusing Russia of committing genocide in Ukraine.

"I'm seeking more sanctions, yes," Biden said, declining to offer specifics when pressed.

President Joe Biden speaks to reporters upon arrival at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., April 4, 2022.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Biden described the situation in Bucha as "outrageous" and called Russian President Vladimir Putin "brutal."

"You may remember I got criticized for calling Putin a war criminal. Well, the truth of the matter -- you saw what happened in Bucha," Biden said. "This warrants he is a war criminal. But we have to gather the information. We have to continue to provide Ukraine with weapons they need to continue the fight. And we have to gather all the details. So this could be an actual -- have a war-crime trial. This guy is brutal. And what's happening with Bucha is outrageous. And everyone sees it."

Ukrainian officials accused Russian troops of committing genocide in Bucha, which was retaken by Ukrainian forces in recent days. Ukrainian leaders said 410 civilians were killed in the fighting in Bucha and that many were found with their hands bound and shot at close range.

Asked if he thought Russia was committing genocide, Biden replied, "No, I think it is a war crime."

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

President Biden spoke to reporters about the "outrageous" situation in Bucha, Ukraine, as horrific images emerge.
President Biden spoke to reporters about the "outrageous" situation in Bucha, Ukraine, as horrific images emerge.

Apr 04, 2022, 10:22 AM EDT

Russia may launch major offensive in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said Monday it is monitoring large movements of Russian troops and reinforcements in eastern Ukraine.

The General Staff said it expects Russian forces to launch a possibly major offensive in the Donbas region within the next 24 hours, particularly against the city of Severodonetsk, which is the administrative center of the government-controlled areas of the Luhansk Oblast.

A man carries a little girl as he arrives with other families to board a train at Kramatorsk central station as they flee the eastern city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, in the Donbas region of Ukraine, April 4, 2022.
Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile, Donetsk Oblast Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko has urged civilians to evacuate now, even from areas not close to the front lines.

Prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his recognition of two breakaway areas of eastern Ukraine's Donbas region that share a border with Russia -- the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics. Russia-backed separatist forces have controlled these parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhanks oblasts since 2014.

-ABC News' Yulia Drozd

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