US directly implores Russia to halt attacks on Ukrainian cities

WASHINGTON

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan directly appealed to his Russian counterpart on Wednesday for the Kremlin to halt attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns as the death toll from Moscow's war soars.

During a telephone call with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev, Sullivan said if Moscow "is serious" about brokering a diplomatic end to its war, it should immediately halt attacks on Ukraine's population centers, National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said in a statement.

"Mr. Sullivan clearly laid out the United States’ commitment to continue imposing costs on Russia, to support the defense of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank, in continued full coordination with our Allies and partners," she said.

"Mr. Sullivan also warned General Patrushev about the consequences and implications of any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine," she added.

The administration has not specified what those consequences could be, but US President Joe Biden has warned they would be "severe" as his top officials warn Moscow has been laying the seeds for a potential false-flag chemical attack it plans to blame on Washington and Kyiv.

Russia began its war against Ukraine on Feb. 24. It has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.

At least 726 civilians have been killed so far in Ukraine, and 1,174 have been injured, according to UN estimates. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights cautioned that the true casualty tolls are likely "considerably higher," particularly in territories that remain under Ukrainian government control.

It pointed specifically to hostilities in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, the key port city of Mariupol and the now-destroyed town of Volnovakha.

More than 3 million refugees have fled to neighboring countries, according to the global body.