President Joe Biden on Monday called for a war crimes trial against Russia President Vladimir Putin and said heB次元官网网址檇 seek more sanctions after reported atrocities in Ukraine.

B次元官网网址淵ou saw what happened in Bucha,B次元官网网址� Biden said. He added that Putin B次元官网网址渋s a war criminal.B次元官网网址�

BidenB次元官网网址檚 comments to reporters came after one of the towns surrounding Kyiv where Ukrainian officials say the bodies of civilians have been found. Zelenskyy called the Russian actions B次元官网网址済enocideB次元官网网址� and called for the West to apply tougher sanctions against Russia.

Biden, however, stopped short of calling the actions genocide.

The bodies of 410 civilians have been removed from Kyiv-area towns that were recently retaken from Russian forces, UkraineB次元官网网址檚 prosecutor-general, Iryna Venediktova, said. Associated Press journalists saw the bodies of at least 21 people in various spots around Bucha, northwest of the capital.

B次元官网网址淲e have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue the fight. And we have to gather all the detail so this can be an actual B次元官网网址� have a war crimes trial,B次元官网网址� Biden said.

Biden lashed out at Putin as B次元官网网址渂rutal.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲hatB次元官网网址檚 happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyone sees it,B次元官网网址� Biden added.

White House officials said talks about ramping up new sanctions against Russia intensified after reports of alleged atrocities emerged. Biden said Monday that he would continue to add sanctions but did not detail what sectors the U.S. may target next.

After unveiling an avalanche of sanctions in the first weeks of the war, administration officials in recent days have put more focus on closing loopholes that Russia might try to use to avoid sanctions.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted Monday that the European Union will send investigators to Ukraine to help the local prosecutor general B次元官网网址渄ocument war crimes.B次元官网网址�

A Russian law enforcement agency says it has launched its own investigation into allegations that Ukrainian civilians were massacred in suburbs of Kyiv that were held by Russian troops, focusing on what it calls B次元官网网址渇alse informationB次元官网网址� about Russian forces.

The Investigative Committee claims Ukrainian authorities made the allegations B次元官网网址渨ith the aim of discrediting Russian troopsB次元官网网址� and that those involved should be investigated over possible breaches of a new Russian law banning what the government deems to be false information about its forces.

Biden noted that he faced pushback last month when for the unfolding onslaught in Ukraine after hospitals and maternity wards were bombed. In his remarks on Monday, Biden made clear that label still applied.

B次元官网网址淭his guy is brutal and whatB次元官网网址檚 happening to Bucha is outrageous, and everyoneB次元官网网址檚 seen it,B次元官网网址� Biden said.

Investigations into PutinB次元官网网址檚 actions had begun before the new allegations of atrocities outside Kyiv.

The U.S. and more than 40 other countries are working together to investigate possible violations and abuses, after the passage of a resolution by the United Nations Human Rights Council to establish a commission of inquiry. There is another probe by the International Criminal Court, an independent body based in the Netherlands. The U.S. Senate last month seeking investigations of Putin and elements of his government for war crimes over the invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, BidenB次元官网网址檚 chief envoy to the United Nations, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, announced Monday that the U.S. plans to seek a suspension of Russia from its seat on the U.N.B次元官网网址檚 top human rights body in the wake of more indications Russian forces may have committed war crimes in Ukraine. That would require a decision by the U.N. General Assembly.

Russia and the other four permanent members of the U.N. Security Council B次元官网网址� Britain, China, France and the United States B次元官网网址� all currently have seats on the 47-member-state rights council, which is based in Geneva. The United States rejoined the council this year.

B次元官网网址淢y message to those 140 countries who have courageously stood together is simple: the images out of Bucha and devastation across Ukraine require us now to match our words with action,B次元官网网址� Thomas-Greenfield said. B次元官网网址淲e cannot let a Member State that is subverting every principle we hold dear to continue to sit on the UN Human Rights Council.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擜amer Madhani, Zeke Miller And Chris Megerian, The Associated Press