Zelensky: situation in Borodyanka ‘significantly worse’ than in Butcha

Overview: situation in Borodyanka ‘worse’ than in Butja, EU bans Russian coal

These are the main developments from Thursday evening and the night from Thursday to Friday:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that the situation in the Ukrainian town of Borodjanka “significantly worse” than the one in nearby Butsha, where the murder of civilians has shocked the world over the past week. Zelensky said so in a video message on the Telegram messaging service. Rescuers search for bodies in the rubble of apartment buildings in Borodjanka after Russian soldiers withdrew.
• EU Member States are allowed to a new sanctions package from the European Union stop importing coal from Russia after a transitional period of 120 days. That is one of the measures in the new package, which EU ambassadors have agreed on. Russian and Russian-operated ships should also be banned from European ports unless they are carrying essential goods such as food.
• The United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution to Suspend Russia from Human Rights Council† 93 of the 193 countries voted for exclusion; 24 countries voted against, including China, Cuba, Syria and Iran. The resolution was submitted by the United States in response to suspected war crimes committed by the Russian armed forces in Butya.

Zelensky: situation in Borodyanka ‘significantly worse’ than in Butcha

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that the situation in the Ukrainian town of Borodyanka is “significantly worse” than that in nearby Butsha, where the killing of civilians has shocked the world over the past week. Zelensky said this in a video message on the Telegram messaging service, Reuters reports.

“Work to clear the debris in Borodyanka has begun,” Zelensky said of the site about 25 kilometers northwest of Butya. Rescuers search for bodies in the rubble of apartment buildings. “It’s much worse there. More victims of the Russian occupiers.”

Zelensky gave no further details and provided no evidence that Russia was responsible for civilian deaths in the place. According to local authorities, more than 300 people were killed by Russian soldiers in Butya, 35 kilometers northwest of Kiev. About fifty of them were said to have been executed. Moscow denies targeting civilians.

New EU sanctions package: coal import ban, Russian ships banned

EU member states will no longer be allowed to import coal from Russia under a new package from the European Union after a transition period of 120 days. That is one of the sanctions in the new package, which EU ambassadors have agreed on. That’s what EU president France has reported on Thursday†

Russian and Russian-operated ships must be banned from European ports under the new package unless they are carrying essential goods such as food. Road transport to and from Russia and Belarus is no longer allowed either. EU countries are no longer allowed to export certain tech products to Russia.

Four Russian banks will be excluded from the Swift payment system, including VTB, Russia’s second largest bank. Some oligarchs and people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin are also personally affected by sanctions.

The measures, which are expected to take effect on Friday, had already been proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. An import ban on Russian oil, which the European Parliament urged earlier on Thursday, is not part of the new measures.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that Germany will need the full 120-day transition period to stop importing Russian coal. At a press conference, he said companies should use that time until mid-August to look for other suppliers.