Zelenskiy warns of worse atrocities yet to be uncovered in Ukraine as west vows more Russia sanctions

Ukraine president says casualties may be ‘much higher’ in Borodyanka, as Germany promises Putin will ‘feel the consequences’ of killings in Bucha

Russia-Ukraine war: latest updatesWhat we know on day 41 of the Russian invasion

Worse atrocities than those discovered in Bucha are likely to be uncovered in other areas seized from Russian invaders, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has warned, ahead of his appearance at the UN security council on Tuesday.

As he built support for an open investigation into the killings in Bucha, Zelenskiy said: “And this is only one town. One of many Ukrainian communities which the Russian forces managed to capture. Now, there is information that in Borodyanka and some other liberated Ukrainian towns, the number of casualties of the occupiers may be even much higher.” The town of Borodyanka lies 25km (16 miles) west of Bucha.

The US stopped Russia paying holders of its sovereign debt more than $600m from reserves held at American banks, in a move meant to eat into Moscow’s holdings of US dollars. The move would force Moscow to decide whether it would use dollars it has access to for payments on its debt or for other purposes, including supporting its war effort, a Treasury spokesperson said.

China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart, Kuleba, in a phone call on Monday, with Beijing again calling for talks to end the conflict. Wang said: “Wars end eventually. The key is how to reflect on the pain, to maintain lasting security in Europe and establish a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism.” Kuleba said they both shared “the conviction that ending the war against Ukraine serves common interests of peace, global food security and international trade”.

A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was stopped during an attempt to reach Mariupol to evacuate civilians, and is now being held in a nearby town, a spokesperson said.

Germany expelled about 40 Russian diplomats in response to what its foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, called the Kremlin’s “unbelievable brutality” and “boundless will to exterminate” in Ukraine, and it temporarily took control of the Russian gas giant Gazprom’s German subsidiary to secure its energy supply.

France later announced it was also expelling a number of Russian diplomatic personnel, saying their actions were “contrary to our security interests”.

The US said it would ask the UN general assembly to suspend Russia from the body’s human rights council. “Russia’s participation on the human rights council is a farce,” Washington’s ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said.

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