Russia-Ukraine updates: US sanctions Russian military shipbuilder, diamond miner

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the death and destruction in Bucha, Ukraine, reportedly at the hands of Russian forces shows a "deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities."

Blinken spoke to reporters at Joint Base Andrews before boarding a plane to Brussels for the Western military alliance's annual spring meeting of foreign ministers.

He said the reports of atrocities emerging in Bucha, a suburb of the capital of Kyiv were "more than credible" and added it "reinforces our determination and the determination of countries around the world to make sure that one way or another, one day or another, there is accountability for those who committed these acts, for those who ordered them."

Ukrainian forces in recent days retook Bucha from the Russians and found the bodies of more than 400 civilians lying dead in the streets or in mass graves, some with their hands bound and shot at close range.

Blinken didn't directly address a question of whether the United States has evidence linking the atrocities on the ground in Busha to Russian officials back in Moscow. Instead, he said the United States is working to support efforts to document evidence by Ukraine's prosecutor-general, the U.N. Human Rights Council's commission of inquiry, and others.

Blinken noted that before the war began, U.S. officials warned that atrocities "would be part of the Russian campaign."

"Horrifically, tragically, what we're seeing in Bucha and in other places supports that," Blinken said.

He said the United States will work with its NATO and G-7 allies to support Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia, especially with meetings among both groups later this week in Brussels.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan

Italy, Spain, Denmark and Sweden announced Tuesday they are joining other European counties in expelling Russian diplomats as horrific images emerge of the bodies of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine, allegedly killed by Russian forces.

The moves come a day after Germany and France said they are expelling Russian diplomats, citing security risks and the alleged atrocities in Bucha.

"This is another example of brutality, cruelty and war crimes, which apparently have taken place in Bucha," Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said his country is expelling about 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff "who represent a threat to the interests and security of our country."

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said three Russian diplomats will be expelled from Sweden for spying and Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio issued a statement confirming his country is expelling 30 Russian envoys for national security.

"The measure is in agreement with other European and Atlantic partners and is necessary for reasons linked to our national security and in the context of the current crisis caused by the unjustified aggression against Ukraine on the part of the Russian Federation," Di Maio said.

The decisions by Italy, Denmark, Sweden and Spain to expel a total of 73 Russian diplomats prompted condemnation from the Kremlin.

"The narrowing of the window for diplomatic communication, diplomatic work under such unprecedentedly difficult crisis conditions is a shortsighted move," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a news conference.

Peskov added that the expulsions "will inevitably lead to retaliatory steps."

Video has emerged purportedly showing a Russian tank firing on a cyclist in the besieged Ukrainian city of Bucha.

The footage, provided to Ukrainian public broadcasting company Suspilne Media by the Ukrainian military, was reportedly taken on March 3.

The video captures the moment a tank fires at a person riding a bike in the streets of Bucha when the town, northwest of Kyiv, was occupied by Russian forces.

Although the video does not show the moment of death, footage taken by an Associated Press journalist in Bucha earlier this week appears to show a deceased cyclist still lying in the same spot.

-ABC News' Monica Camacho

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday its team has been released from detention after failing to reach the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

An ICRC team tasked with escorting evacuation buses to and from Mariupol "was stopped" and "held by police" on Monday in the town of Manhush, about 12 miles west of Mariupol. The team was released Monday night, according to an ICRC spokesperson.

"This is of great relief to us and to their families," the spokesperson told ABC News in a statement Tuesday. "The team is focused now on continuing the humanitarian evacuation operation. This incident yesterday shows how volatile and complex the operation to facilitate safe passage around Mariupol has been for our team, who have been trying to reach the city since Friday."

The ICRC didn't specify which police force had detained its team. However, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement via Telegram on Tuesday that the ICRC team was being held by "the occupation authorities" in Manhush.