Blinken invokes Putin's dead brother in accusing Russia of 'starving' Ukraine's cities

The top U.S. diplomat compared Russia's siege to Nazi Germany's.

As Russian forces continue to advance across Ukraine, the U.S. is accusing the Kremlin of "starving" besieged Ukrainian cities, in the words of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who on Monday appealed directly to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to "end the war, end it now."

Blinken even appealed to Putin's family history, comparing the Kremlin's siege of Ukrainian cities to Nazi Germany's siege of Russian cities during World War II, which killed Putin's one-year-old brother Viktor.

But amid calls like his, the Ukrainian government, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is urging U.S. and Western leaders to do more -- beyond condemnations and the historic amount of defensive aid and provide warplanes, missile defense systems, and a no-fly zone.

U.S. allies in the Baltics are increasingly nervous about Putin's advances in Ukraine, with Lithuania's president warning Monday that the strongman leader "will not stop."