National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said recent reports of Russian troops torturing and killing Ukrainian civilians are “terrible… downright shocking, but not surprising.”
Sullivan told ABC News’ This Week co-host Jonathan Karl on Sunday that before the war began, declassified intelligence agencies “indicated that there was a plan at the highest levels of the Russian government to target civilians who resisted the invasion.”
“So that was something that was planned,” he told Karl, adding that some units may have acted without direction from their leaders, frustrated by the Ukrainian resistance they’ve encountered.
“I think that some of these units were involved in these brutal acts, these atrocities, these war crimes, even without orders from above. But make no mistake, the larger problem of widespread war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine lies at the feet of the Kremlin and lies at the feet of the Russian President,” he said.
Asked whether the acts constitute genocide, as suggested by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv this week, Sullivan noted that the State Department usually makes this legal decision after an investigation and legal analysis.
“But let’s put the legalities aside for a minute… I think we can all say these are mass atrocities. These are war crimes,” he said.
In one recent incident, at least 52 people, including five children, were killed in a rocket attack on a train station in eastern Ukraine. Images of bodies scattered over luggage showed the scale of the attack, which left at least 100 injured.
Since the war began, the Biden administration has continuously imposed sanctions designed to cripple Russia’s economy and Putin’s funding of the invasion.
In the latest package, the US, along with its European Union allies and the G-7, imposed a ban on all new investment in Russia, tightened sanctions on two major banks and sanctioned the two adult daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin. But while the US has banned Russian oil imports, European governments have not.
Asked if it’s time for Europe to ban Russian oil and gas and imports estimated at $850 million a day, Sullivan said the president had made it clear the US could do it , “without imposing massive costs on the American people “But we would continue to work with European allies to limit dependence.
“He is now working daily with his European colleagues on steps Europe can take to wean itself off Russian oil and gas,” he told Karl. “In fact, the United States is increasing gas exports to Europe to reduce its dependence on Russia.”
Karl added: “But you hear President Zelenskyy’s frustration. We heard it from the Mayor of Kyiv that the money keeps flowing, that the ruble is not in ruins like the President said… Money is still flowing and still flowing at quite dramatic levels.”
“If you look at independent forecasts of the Russian economy, it’s likely to fall about 10-15% this year,” Sullivan said. “It’s likely that it will cease to be one of the largest economies in the world because of the economic pressure we’ve put on them.”
Sullivan also said the economy was “artificially supported” by Russian banks.
“Banks … are not allowed by the Russian government to sell dollars to customers. This is how they protect the ruble. But that has huge economic costs for – for the Russian economy,” he added. “We will continue to put pressure on the Russian economy to make Russia and the Kremlin feel the pain of their actions in Ukraine.”
Sullivan acknowledged that although Putin has suffered several setbacks in his quest to overthrow the Ukrainian government, his tight grip on the media has prevented Russians from hearing the truth.
“You don’t get the truth, for example, Jon, about the fact that the Russians lost and the Ukrainians won the battle for Kyiv,” he said. “Kyiv stands despite Russia’s efforts to capture their neighbor’s capital and they have been unable to do so and they suffered a significant military defeat there.”