In the wake of the horrific missile attack perpetrated by Russia that killed and mutilated scores of civilians in the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Palm Sunday, a growing phalanx of lawmakers on Capitol Hill is calling for maximum pressure on Vladimir Putin’s regime even as the Trump administration continues to negotiate a ceasefire.

In midmorning on Sunday, April 12, two Russian ballistic missiles struck a busy city center in Sumy, a city in northeastern Ukraine. Officials said that the streets were “crowded with civilians” celebrating the Christian feast of Palm Sunday when the attack occurred, with The New York Times reporting that “[v]ideo of the aftermath showed mangled and bloodied bodies laying motionless, burning cars and debris covering the road as screams and sirens wailed in the background.” At least 35 people were killed in the attack, with at least 117 injured.

The devastating civilian attack came just over a week after another Russian missile slammed into a playground in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing 19 people, including nine children.

The strikes are stark reminders of stalled ceasefire negotiations that the Trump administration has been attempting to orchestrate with the Putin regime. So far, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has met with Putin three times, and the administration is still attempting to hammer out an agreement with Ukraine to gain access to its mineral resources.

But the blatant nature of Sunday’s civilian massacre, which Russia claimed was an attempt to target a gathering of military officers in a conference center in Sumy, has drawn widespread condemnation even from Trump administration officials, who have avoided direct criticism of Moscow as they attempt to negotiate a ceasefire. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, remarked that the attack crossed “any line of decency.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the attack as “horrifying.” On the day of the attack, President Trump described it in similar sentiments, while also implying that the civilians were mistakenly targeted. “I think it was terrible,” he said aboard Air Force One. “And I was told they made a mistake. But I think it’s a horrible thing.”

As the stalled negotiations and deaths continue, some lawmakers are demanding increased sanctions against Russia in an effort to force Putin to come to the negotiating table. On April 1, a rare bipartisan contingent of 25 Republican and 25 Democratic senators introduced legislation that would “require tariffs on countries who purchase Russian oil, gas, uranium and other products,” according to lead sponsors Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). Companion legislation in the House reportedly has bipartisan support as well.

Congressmen like Chris Smith (R-N.J.) say that increasingly stringent sanctions should play a significant part in confronting Putin.

“[The Sumy attack is] another bold manifestation by a dictator who should be in chains at The Hague for the rest of his life for crimes against humanity,” he told Tony Perkins during Monday’s edition of “Washington Watch.” “… It’s got to stop. [A]ny field commander who would have lost so many troops the way he has in such a reckless manner would have been removed and brought to trial by his own people. Here we have a guy [who] doesn’t care about the loss of Russian life and cares even less about the loss of Ukrainian life. So the more the president pushes not only [for] a ceasefire, but an end to this wanton destruction, the better. And I’m all for using every means possible, every single solitary economic imposition on trade and everything else on Russia.”

Smith went on to contend that a major part of boxing Russia in to end their invasion of Ukraine would be to directly target Putin for war crimes.

“[A]fter Putin’s totally unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, I offered the idea and then offered legislation that he be brought before a tribunal,” he explained. “And, you know, everyone said, ‘Oh, well, the Security Council will never authorize the ICC to do it.’ The General Assembly could, and that criminal apparatus could have been set up. He could have been tried as well as Lavrov and Lukashenko over in nearby Belarus and a host of others. And they could have been branded right from the start as war criminals. … Giv[ing] more weapons, kill[ing] more people — that’s not the answer. What we really have to do now is isolate this cancer at the very top of Russia and bring it to trial.”

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Bob Maginnis, Family Research Council’s senior fellow for National Security, also argued that alternative strategies will likely be necessary to counter Putin.

“President Trump’s efforts do not appear to be working with Putin,” he told The Washington Stand. “Today, considering the Sumy attack, peace seems rather illusive as Russia increases attacks on civilians. Of course, shedding more innocent blood may be Putin’s strategy to compel the U.S. and Ukraine to meet more of Moscow’s demands. But Putin’s demands include things Kyiv refuses to embrace: loss of eastern provinces, holding a national election, abandon hopes of NATO and EU membership, and radically downsizing its military. Caving to Putin’s demands is basically surrender and loss of sovereignty.”

Maginnis continued, “Obviously, Putin isn’t ready to quit the war. Evidently, his pain from our sanctions isn’t enough to persuade him to seek peace talks or he believes victory is still possible, so he continues to fight and ratchet up civilian casualties. It appears that Mr. Trump’s campaign promises to quickly end the killing isn’t working.” 

“The president must embrace a policy that forces Putin to accept terms and that will likely require more than deeper sanctions,” he concluded. “After all, Russia’s allies like China remain at Putin’s side as evidenced by the continued flow of resources that help the war effort.”