President Joe Biden declared "major war crimes" were being discovered in Ukraine as Russian forces retreat from areas around Kyiv, citing scenes of brutal, cold-blooded executions as rationale for ratcheting up US sanctions on Moscow.

"Responsible nations have to come together to hold these perpetrators accountable," Biden told a union crowd in Washington as the White House announced new sanctions on Russia's largest financial institutions and number of individuals tied to the Kremlin, including Russian President Vladimir Putin's two adult daughters.

"We will keep raising the economic cost and ratchet up the pain for Putin and further increase Russia's economic isolation," Biden said, decrying the intentional targeting of civilians by Russia and heralding a united Western response, even as he acknowledged the battle was still ongoing.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/06/politics/us-latest-sanctions-on-russia/index.html