The White House has accused Russia of killing Syrian civilians in one of its most direct condemnations of Moscow’s wartime conduct.

Defying a 30-day United Nations ceasefire agreement, Russia went on to “kill innocent civilians under the false auspices of counterterrorism operations”, the White House said in a statement.

“This is the same combination of lies and indiscriminate force that Russia and the Syrian regime used to isolate and destroy Aleppo in 2016, where thousands of civilians were killed,” the statement said.

A government siege of Eastern Ghouta, near regime-controlled Damascus, has left hundreds dead and spurred urgent pleas from world leaders to avert a massacre.

Russian forces carried out at least 20 daily bombing missions in Damascus and Eastern Ghouta over a four-day period in late February, the White House said.

The White House charged Syria and its allies, including Iran, with perpetrating a “brutal” campaign including chemical weapons attacks and strikes on medical infrastructure.

Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Show all 14 1 /14 Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures A Syrian woman and children run for cover amid the rubble of buildings. AFP/Getty Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Smoke rises from buildings following the attack on the village of Mesraba in the rebel-held besieged Eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of the capital Damascu. AFP/Getty Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Injured children receive medical treatment. EPA Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures A Syrian man carries a child injured. AFP/Getty Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures An injured child receives treatment following bombings on several areas of eastern Ghouta. EPA Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures A child reacts inside a hospital after relatives were injured in the bombing. EPA Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Syrian children cry at a make-shift hospital in Douma following air strikes on the Syrian village of Mesraba. AFP/Getty Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Syrian Civil Defense group extinguishing a store during airstrikes and shelling by Syrian government forces. AP Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures A wounded 12-year-old Syrian boy, cries as he receives treatment at a make-shift hospital. AFP/Getty Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Syrians carry a wounded man. AFP/Getty Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures An injured man covered with blood at a medical point. Reuters Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures People sit a medical point in the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta. Reuters Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Syrian Civil Defense running to help survivors. AP Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Injured children receive medical treatment. EPA

Donald Trump joined with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Emmanuel Macron of France this week in calling on Russia to halt its air offensive, according to a readout of their call.

Relations between Russia and the West were already under strain in recent days after Vladimir Putin boasted of powerful new nuclear weapons, illustrating his claim with a depiction of missiles striking Florida.

This animation of Russian nuclear missiles targeting Florida played as Putin announced the new weapons

American officials previously excoriated Russia for stalling the UN effort to broker a ceasefire, with UN ambassador Nikki Haley singling the nation out as she asked “how many more people will die” from inaction.