Current and former U.S. officials said the weekend moves came about for an array of reasons. Chief among them were events on the ground: Skeptics, especially in Europe, can no longer ignore nor minimize Putin’s intentions when Russian troops, tanks and missiles are assaulting major Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv.
“It’s the reality of what was happening in Ukraine. It changes the politics of it overnight,” a second senior Biden administration official told POLITICO.
Zelenskyy’s decision to stay in Kyiv and rally his fellow citizens added to the pressure other capitals felt to do something, as did Ukrainian forces unwillingness to fold on the battlefield, officials and analysts said. Among those praising Zelenskyy was Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who said the Ukrainian had shown “remarkable courage” and blasted Putin as a “small, evil, feral-eyed man.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/28/u-s-russia-ukraine-protests-sanctions-00012173
