5,000 feared dead in besieged city of Mariupol 

WASHINGTON — The House overwhelmingly passed legislation Wednesday calling for a federal government report on evidence of war crimes committed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Lawmakers backed the measure amid gruesome reports of atrocities in towns around Kyiv, particularly Bucha, and new accounts of the civilian death toll in the besieged port city of Mariupol.

The legislation calls for the president to submit a report to Congress about efforts to preserve evidence related to war crimes.

The Senate passed a resolution last month seeking an investigation of Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes.

In his daily nighttime video address to the nation late Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to hide evidence of war crimes to interfere with the international investigation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday accused Russia of trying to hide evidence of the killing of civilians in parts of Ukraine that Russian forces control.

“We have information that the Russian military changed tactics and that they are trying to clear the streets and basements in the occupied territories of the bodies of the dead people, dead Ukrainians," Zelenskyy said in a video address. "It is their efforts to hide the evidence, nothing more. But they will not succeed, because they killed a lot of people.” 

The video did not expand on the information. Photos and video of the recaptured Kyiv area town of Bucha, which purported to show the bodies of dead civilians, have sparked shock and outrage and accusations that Russian forces have committed war crimes.

Survivors and eyewitnesses from Bucha have also described arbitrary executions of civilians by Russian forces.

A convoy of more than 500 people, fleeing in buses and private vehicles, reached the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday, Red Cross officials said.

The civilians fled the besieged city of Mariupol, where many more people need help, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement.

“This convoy’s arrival to Zaporizhzhia is a huge relief for hundreds of people who have suffered immensely and are now in a safer location,” the Red Cross said. “It’s clear, though, that thousands more civilians trapped inside Mariupol need safe passage out and aid to come in.”

The convoy left Berdyansk, which is west of Mariupol. Zaporizhzhia is northwest of both cities. A team from the Red Cross has repeatedly tried to reach Mariupol, “but security conditions on the ground made it impossible to enter,” the Red Cross said.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said Wednesday he agrees with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the Russian atrocities in the suburbs of Kyiv and elsewhere in the country constitute genocide.

"It is hard to deny this, of course. This is a crime which fulfills the features of genocide, especially if you look at the context of different conversations that are being conducted," Duda told CNN in a taped interview that aired Wednesday evening.

"The goal of that invasion is simply to extinguish the Ukrainian nation," Duda added.

Five thousand people have died in the southeast Ukrainian city of Mariupol since Russia invaded the country, the city's mayor said in a roundtable discussion that was broadcast live on Facebook on Wednesday.

The death toll there includes some 210 children, Vadym Boychenko said.

Boychenko described the war's devastation in Mariupol, recounting some of the most horrific allegations, including that Russian forces dropped "several heavy bombs" on a children's hospital and shelled a drama theater where more than 900 people had been hiding.

"These are just a few examples of the deliberate destruction of the civilian population of Mariupol," the mayor said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the "atrocities" perpetrated in the town of Bucha, and warned that the conflict only appears to be ramping up.

"We need to support Ukraine, sustain our sanctions, and strengthen our defenses and our deterrence, because this can last for a long time and we need to be prepared for that," Stoltenberg told reporters ahead of a meeting in Brussels of foreign ministers of NATO allies.

He said fighting could last "many months" or even years, and "we need also to be prepared for the long haul." 

His comments are in line with remarks made Tuesday by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Mark Milley, who told Congress that "I do think this is a very protracted conflict, and I think it's measured in years. I don't know about decades, but at least years, for sure."

The U.S. is putting a "very small number" of Ukrainians through some professional military education in the states, a senior defense official told NBC News.

The U.S. took the advantage of having the Ukrainians in the country to give them rudimentary training on certain equipment, such as "switchblade" drones, the official said.

Russian forces have completed their withdrawal from around Ukraine's capital of Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv to consolidate and regroup, a senior U.S. defense official said Wednesday.

The official said the troops may have left behind mines and Kyiv remains under threat, although the U.S. has not seen any airstrikes there in the last 24 hours.

How long it will take Russian troops to resupply themselves is unknown and will depend on the units themselves and how depleted they are, the official added.

The official also said the U.S. military is training a small number of Ukrainians inside the U.S., including on how to operate "switchblade" drones.

Fifty-five thousand people crossed Ukraine's western borders with the European Union and Moldova on Tuesday, the country's border guard service said Wednesday.

The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said in a Facebook post that 13,000 vehicles crossed, too, and "passenger flow remains stable."

Russian troops are carrying out a campaign of "mass terror" and looting in the occupied territories of southern Ukraine, a human rights official said Wednesday.

Liudmyla Denisova, Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, made the allegations in a post on Telegram.

She alleged "looting of citizens on a large scale" in Melitopol and kidnappings in Kherson, "in addition to the humanitarian catastrophe created by the occupiers."

She also described a campaign to seize Ukraine's agricultural industry.

“The racists are trying their best to completely disrupt the crops in the occupied territories — they mine fields, search warehouses with agricultural machinery and steal it,” Denisova said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. will impose a new round of economic sanctions on Russia, the White House announced on Wednesday, including on the adult children of President Vladimir Putin, in response to new accusations he committed war crimes in Ukraine.

The U.S. and allies in Europe have already imposed a series of sanctions, including limiting Russian imports and largely cutting the nation off from the international financial system.

European allies are also expected to announce new sanctions.

President Joe Biden said on Monday that he would roll out more sanctions after calling Putin a “war criminal” for the reported attacks on civilians in Bucha, including images of civilians shot with their hands tied behind their backs.

Read the full story here.

China's foreign ministry said Wednesday that it is unsettled by the images coming out of the Ukrainian town of Bucha, where reports from the weekend showed dozens of bodies in civilian clothing strewn in the streets.

"The reports and images of civilian deaths in the town of Bucha are deeply disturbing. The truth and origin of the incident must be thoroughly investigated," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters.

But, he added, the circumstances of the scene should be verified and any accusations based on facts.

While the United States and its allies have accused Russia of war crimes over the past weeks, Moscow has pushed back, calling any photos and videos from Bucha a "provocation" by Ukrainian authorities. On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the scene of being "staged."

After what many consider a sluggish start, the West is now hitting Russia in a multipronged assault: NATO members are meeting in Europe on Wednesday to discuss more sanctions, diplomatic expulsions and kicking Russia out of a United Nations body.

The push comes after the discovery of atrocities in the Ukrainian town of Bucha apparently committed by withdrawing Russian troops — something President Joe Biden and other world leaders have labeled a war crime.

Despite this full-court press by the West, the real test will be whether Europe can wean itself off Russian gas. The European Union’s foreign policy chief revealed Wednesday that the bloc had paid 35 billion euros (around $38 billion) for Russian energy since the invasion began — compared with 1 billion euros in aid for Ukraine — indirectly financing the Kremlin’s war machine.

“It’s been a belated effort; countries were far too weak as Putin was ratcheting up his war,” said Scott Lucas, a professor at England’s University of Birmingham who specializes in foreign affairs. “But now they’ve got it together, they are adding political and economic pressure to add to Russia’s military defeat.”

Read the full story here.

LVIV, Ukraine — Ukrainians gathered in Lviv’s central square on Tuesday evening in honor of both the soldiers and civilians who became victims of the Russian invasion. 

Daryna Voloshyna, a 28-year-old teacher originally from Irpin, a suburb north of Kyiv, was forced to flee her hometown when the Russian attacks became too dangerous. Standing at Tuesday’s vigil, she said she couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the images of the destruction left in Irpin. 

“I guess they are not people,” she said about the Russian troops. “They are not people because they have no soul, no heart to feel sorry for us. They still believe it’s fake, they still believe it’s us who are attacking ourselves which makes no sense to me.” 

Inna Shymkiv, 36, fled her small town of Hlevaka, just south of Kyiv, with her husband, daughter and dog on Feb. 24, the first day of the Russian invasion after seeing rockets flying over her house. She said she is still in a state of disbelief over the images coming out of Bucha. 

“There is a beautiful park there,” she said about Bucha. “I want to rebuild it. I want to memorialize, to remember those people. And I want Ukraine to become as beautiful, as bright a country as it could be.”

Ukrainians living in Luhanks, Donetsk and parts of Kharkiv should evacuate immediately, Ukraine's deputy prime minister said Wednesday.

"It is necessary to evacuate" because Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces will continue to wage an assault on the country, Iryna Vereshchuk said in a televised message.

Pope Francis has condemned the "horrendous cruelty" Russian forces have been accused of carrying out in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.

“The recent news of the war in Ukraine, rather than bringing relief and hope, attests instead of new atrocities," the pope said Wednesday toward the end of his weekly general audience.

Citing Ukraine's accusations that Russian forces killed and tortured hundreds of people in Bucha, he said the situation was representative of "ever more horrendous cruelty done even against defenseless civilians, women and children."

"They are victims whose innocent blood cries to Heaven and implores: Put an end to this war! Silence the weapons! Stop sowing death and destruction!" he said. In a powerful moment, the pope also held up a Ukrainian flag sent to him from Bucha.

Mykolaiv’s regional governor has said the “mood” about Russian forces among local residents has become “completely different” after the atrocities alleged to have taken place in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.

In a video posted to Telegram Wednesday, Vitaliy Kim suggested that growing outrage could result in more tense confrontations with Russian troops.

He said: “It will be completely different now, what will happen in direct confrontations (with Russian forces).”

The war in Ukraine could likely still go on "for some time," Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told NBC News' Andrea Mitchell on Wednesday.

Despite the withdrawal of Russian troops from around the capital, Kyiv, and in the north and west of the country, “they have a lot of force still left," he said.

Blinken also said that the U.S. as well as its allies speak regularly with Ukrainian officials about potential guarantees for Kyiv’s security once the war ends.

“We have to do things to make sure that to the best of our ability, Ukraine’s ability, this can’t happen again, Russia is deterred, that Ukraine is defended,” he said.

"We’re having constant conversations with our Ukrainian partners, pretty much on a daily basis, including about what it is we and others can do in the event of a successful negotiation to defend them and help them defend themselves going forward.” 

The International Committee of the Red Cross led a convoy of buses and private cars with more than 500 people fleeing Mariupol, the humanitarian organization said Wednesday.

Those fleeing were taken to Zaporizhzhia, the Red Cross said in a tweet.

The announcement comes after the Red Cross faced repeated hurdles in its effort to reach Mariupol to help facilitate evacuations from the besieged port city.

It was an attention-grabbing assertion that made headlines around the world: U.S. officials said they had intelligence suggesting Russia might be preparing to use chemical agents in Ukraine.

President Joe Biden later said it publicly. But three U.S. officials told NBC News this week there is no evidence Russia has brought any chemical weapons near Ukraine. They said the U.S. released the information to deter Russia from using the banned munitions.

It’s one of a string of examples of the Biden administration’s breaking with recent precedent by deploying declassified intelligence as part of an information war against Russia. The administration has done so even when the intelligence wasn’t rock solid, officials said, to keep Russian President Vladimir Putin off balance. 

Read the full story here.

President Joe Biden is expected to address new U.S. sanctions against Russia near the beginning of his remarks at a North America’s Building Trades Union Legislative Conference in Washington, two senior administration officials told NBC News.

Biden's remarks are scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m. ET.

The U.S. and the European Union are considering sanctions against Putin's daughters over the Russian leader's invasion of Ukraine, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to NBC News earlier Wednesday.

The United States and European Union are considering sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughters, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to NBC News.

Putin has two daughters with his former wife, Lyudmila Putina, who announced the end of their 30 years of marriage in 2013.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Putin's daughters could face possible sanctions, which would see them join a growing list of individuals and organizations to be affected by penalties from the West as Russia faces growing outrage over atrocities it has been accused of committing in Bucha, near Kyiv.

Asked to comment on the potential sanctions on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he could not speak on "what has not yet been made public."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that "work" on peace talks with Ukraine continues, adding that there is "a long road ahead."

The comments came as international attention focused on horrific images of atrocities Russian forces have been accused of committing in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, intensifying calls for a war crimes investigation against Russian President Vladimir Putin's government.

Peskov on Wednesday described the scenes from Bucha as a "monstrous staging," or forgery, reiterating Moscow's unfounded claims of a civilian massacre being faked.

He suggested that such accusations were "easily capable" of disrupting the negotiation process, but insisted that the "working process" for negotiations continues.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of using "hunger" as a weapon in an address before Ireland's Parliament Wednesday. In his video address, Zelenskyy accused Russia of seeking to destroy Ukraine's infrastructure and deliberately provoke a food crisis.

The United Nations has repeatedly warned of the devastating impact Russia's invasion could have on countries that rely on Ukraine's wheat production.

Zelenskyy suggested Russia also appeared to be using hunger as a weapon in the besieged port city of Mariupol, where more than 100,000 people have been trapped without access to food, water, medication and other essentials.

The Ukrainian leader said he could not "tolerate any indecisiveness" from the international community on efforts to pressure Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine.

Russian ultranationalist politician Valdimir Zhirinovsky has died at the age of 75 after a prolonged illness, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament said on Wednesday.

“The scale of his personality is such that without him it is difficult to imagine the history of the development of the political system of modern Russia,” parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said in a tribute, according to Reuters.

Zhirinovsky, who was the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, was known for his fiery anti-Western rhetoric.

In the run-up to the 2016 election, he made headlines after urging Americans to vote for Donald Trump or risk being dragged into nuclear war.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes at Egmont Palace, in Brussels on Wednesday.

Two people have died in the Donetsk region after shelling hit a humanitarian aid site in the city of Vuhledar, the head of the regional administration has said.

“It is currently known that two people were killed and five were injured,” Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a Telegram post on Wednesday.

NBC News was not able to independently verify the claim.

A man died after crashing a vehicle into the gate of Russia's Embassy in Bucharest Wednesday, police in the Romanian capital said.

It is unclear whether the crash was accidental or deliberate. In a statement, police said they were still investigating the incident. They have not yet released the identity of the driver.

In a separate statement, the Russian Embassy in Romania confirmed the incident, saying it had unfolded "under the influence of an explosion of anti-Russian hysteria" in connection with what it called a "staged provocation in Bucha."

Ukraine has accused Russian forces of killing and torturing as many as 300 people in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha before pulling out of the town. Moscow has repeatedly denied the claim, calling it a "provocation," even as photos purported to show the dead bodies of civilians in Bucha have sparked international outrage.

Romania had said on Tuesday it would expel 10 Russian diplomats who it said had failed to act in accordance with international rules, joining a number of other European countries ordering similar expulsions following reports on the situation in Bucha.

Greece has expelled 12 Russian diplomats, declaring them “personae non gratae," the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday.

The foreign ministry general secretary has informed the Russian ambassador of the decision, adding that the diplomats were not in accordance with the international rules, Reuters reported.

Greece joined other European nations who have expelled over 200 Russian diplomats in a direct response to the atrocities Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of committing in Bucha, near Kyiv.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said newly proposed sanctions to pressure Russia to end the war in Ukraine "will not be our last."

"We must increase pressure on Putin and the Russian government again," she said in a tweet Wednesday. "So, we propose to tighten our sanctions even further."

Under the fifth round of sanctions, a ban would be placed on coal and on Russian ships, with a few exceptions, including for those carrying food and humanitarian aid. The proposed package also includes a full transaction ban on four Russian banks. Russian and Belarusian transport companies would also be blocked from entering the European Union.

The new sanctions would "limit the Kremlin's political and economic options," von der Leyen said. “They affect Russia much harder than us.”

However, she suggested further penalties would be needed to pressure Moscow to end its invasion of Ukraine, saying they would not be the last sanctions to be laid against Russia.

Hungary's foreign ministry summoned Ukraine's ambassador Wednesday over "insults" about Budapest's stance on Russia's invasion.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced the development in a statement shared on Facebook Wednesday, saying it was "time for Ukrainian leaders to stop their insults directed at Hungary and acknowledge the will of the Hungarian people."

He said Hungary has condemned Russia's invasion and has acknowledged Ukraine's sovereignty, in addition to taking in hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the war.

However, he said: “This is not our war, so we want to and will stay out of it,” Szijjarto said, referring to his country's neutral stance on the war.

The comment comes just days after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was re-elected and after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Orban appeared to fear Russia's influence.

Pope Francis holds a Ukrainian flag that was sent to him from the town of Bucha during the weekly general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday.

The United Kingdom has said it will donate a fleet of 20 ambulances to Ukraine.

The first ambulances will arrive in Ukraine this week, destined for Lviv, which will be further transported to the areas most in need, Britain's Foreign Affairs Office said.

In a press release on Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the "world class NHS ambulances will now help bring lifesaving care directly to those injured in the conflict.”

The U.K. government has so far donated more than 5 million items of medical supplies and pledged almost $300 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, the release said.

Eleven humanitarian corridors for evacuation and aid have been planned for Wednesday, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced on Telegram.

The planned corridors include evacuation out of the besieged city of Mariupol using own private transport as well as from the cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk, she said.

Safe routes out of Mariupol have been repeatedly blocked and attacked, making evacuations nearly impossible, Ukrainian officials have said. Earlier on Tuesday, Vereshchuk said that a convoy of seven buses was forced to return after facing a blockade west of Mariupol, in the area of Manhush.

Vereshchuk also said that buses full of humanitarian aid will be sent from Zaporizhzhia to Melitopol and Huliaipole. 

A woman walks a dog in a wheelchair decorated with the Ukrainian flag in downtown Odessa on Tuesday.

India's ambassador to the United Nations said the country "unequivocally" condemns the atrocities Russia has been accused of committing in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.

"Recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha are deeply disturbing," India's Ambassador to the United Nations T. S. Tirumurti said before the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. "We unequivocally condemn these killings and support the call for an independent investigation," he said.

Russian forces were accused of killing and torturing as many as 300 people in Bucha before pulling out of the town. Moscow has continuously denied targeting civilians in its attacks, but photos and videos purported to show the dead bodies of civilians in Bucha have sent shockwaves across the globe, sparking fresh sanctions proposals to pressure Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine.

Intel has suspended all business operations in Russia a month after suspending shipments to the country and to Belarus, the company has announced.

“Intel continues to join the global community in condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine and calling for a swift return to peace," it said in a statement Tuesday.

The chipmaker added that it was working to support its 1,200 employees in Russia and has implemented measures to minimize disruption to its global operations.

Destroyed Russian military machinery sits on the Highway outside Borodyanka, near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Tuesday.

Heavy fighting and continued Russian airstrikes have plunged the besieged city of Mariupol deeper into a worsening humanitarian crisis, Britain's defense ministry has warned.

In an intelligence update published Wednesday, it said, “Most of the 160,000 remaining residents have no light, communication, medicine, heat or water.”

As the situation worsens, Russian forces have prevented humanitarian access "likely to pressure defenders to surrender," it said.

NATO foreign ministers will convene in Brussels Wednesday to discuss how to further support Ukraine and pressure Russia to end its invasion of the country.

The summit comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an impassioned plea before the U.N. Security Council for more support in the fight against Russian forces.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is expected to attend part of the two-day talks. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said Kuleba will provide an update on the situation on the ground, as well as on the latest in peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators.