Image source, EPA

Earlier this afternoon, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council - the first time he has done so since the war began.

Here’s a quick roundup of what was said:

• Appearing by video link, Zelensky gave a detailed list of alleged atrocities by invading troops which have been discovered after Russia pulled back its troops from northern parts of his country
• He claimed occupying forces killed and tortured “just for pleasure” and went on to play a graphic video which appeared to show dead Ukrainians - although the BBC has not independently verified these images
• Zelensky demanded Moscow face “accountability” and called for Russia to be removed from the UN's Security Council
• Russia again denied accusations of war crimes in Ukraine, with its UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya telling the council there were “flagrant inconsistencies” in reports seen in Ukrainian and Western media
• He repeated a claim that the corpses found by reporters in Bucha were not there when Russian forces left the northern city – a claim that has been debunked by the BBC with the help of satellite imagery

• The UN meeting in New York saw fresh condemnation of Russia’s actions from afar. The United States again called for Russia to be thrown off the UN’s Human Rights Council
• China, which has avoided criticising the Russian invasion, commented that the reports of civilian deaths were "very disturbing", but said any accusations should be based on verified facts

• The UN’s Secretary-General António Guterres spoke too, saying that the invasion had already forced the fastest movement of population since World War Two

Image source, Reuters

More than 7.1 million people have been displaced by the war in Ukraine, a report by the UN's International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has found, external.

That's a 10% increase in the number of people displaced within the country since the first round of the survey on 16 March, the IOM said.

That number is part of the more than 10 million people who have now fled their homes in Ukraine because of the Russian invasion, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

More than half of the displaced households have children, 57% are with elderly family members, and 30% have people with chronic illnesses, the IOM report showed.

The income of displaced households dropped sharply since the war started according to the report, with more than a third of displaced households indicating they have had no income in the last month.

Earlier, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the UN Security Council for the first time since Russia began its invasion.

Zelensky said there are "many more cities like Bucha" and "the world has yet to see what [the Russians] have done in other occupied cities and regions of our country".

Watch the video below.

Image source, Reuters

Away from the United Nations Security Council, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said co-ordinated international sanctions have frozen 60% of Russia's "war chest".

Speaking at a news conference following a meeting with her Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau, Truss said more than $350bn (£266bn) of Russia's $604bn foreign currency reserves are unavailable to President Vladimir Putin's regime.

These "crippling" sanctions are pushing the Russian economy back "into the Soviet era", she said.

Truss urged the G7 group of rich countries to go further in their sanctions ahead of its meeting this week.

The foreign secretary said further measures against Moscow should target shipping, banks and the gold trade as well as agreeing a timetable to eliminate imports of Russian oil and gas.

She added that the only way to end the war was for Russia to lose in Ukraine.

Image source, Getty Images

Warning: this post contains a photo some readers may find disturbing

Russia's representative has just been denying atrocities took place in Bucha, claiming bodies in the streets photographed and filmed by journalists were not there before Russian forces withdrew.

But analysis of satellite images provided by the American company Maxar - and verified by the BBC - shows there were bodies on the same street in Bucha on 19 March. Russian forces withdrew at the end of March.

We have also debunked other Russian claims - and you can read more here.

Image source, BBC/Maxar

Russian representative to the UN Security Council, Vasily Nebenzya, has rejected accusations of war crimes by Russian troops in Bucha, arguing there are “flagrant inconsistencies in events shown by Ukrainian and Western media".

He claimed that corpses found by reporters in the Ukrainian city were not there right after the withdrawal of the Russian forces – adding that this was “confirmed by several videos”.

Nebenzya added: “The corpses in no way resemble those that could be lying on the street for three or four days.”

However, satellite imagery confirmed by the BBC appears to show bodies on the road in Bucha nearly two weeks before the Russians left the town.

The Russian representative to the UN Security Council, Vasily Nebenzya, is now addressing the meeting.

He repeats the baseless Russian allegation that Ukraine's government - led by President Zelensky, who is Jewish - are Nazis.

After some technical difficulties, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has just shown the UN Security Council a video of footage from Ukraine.

The clip lasted about a minute and showed image after image of dead Ukrainians - including some burned and disfigured bodies. The BBC has not independently verified the video.

Dame Barbara Woodward - the UK's representative on the council, who is sitting as the council's president - thanked Zelensky for sharing the video.

The images "are harrowing", she says.

"Speaking in my national capacity, we are appalled by what we have seen and reiterate our solidarity with Ukraine," she adds.

The US has reiterated its call for Russia to be suspended from the UN Human Rights Council - saying Washington "has assessed" that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, told the Security Council "Russia should not have a position of authority in a body whose very purpose is to promote respect for human rights".

She said Russian participation "hurts" the human rights council's credibility, following the "unprovoked war and the humanitarian crisis".

Turning to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, following his address to the security council, Thomas-Greenfield said: "We stand with the people of Ukraine as you face down this brutal attack on your sovereignty, your democracy, and your freedom."

President Zelensky goes on to demand that Russia faces "accountability", saying it should be brought before an international tribunal similar to that held at Nuremberg after World War Two.

The "massacre" in Bucha is only one example of many of what Russia has been doing in past 41 days, Zelensky says.

The world is yet to learn the full truth, he adds, with Russia's military openly looting villages they have captured.

Zelensky also questions Russia's role within the UN, saying the invasion "undermines" the whole architecture of global security.

He calls on the council to throw Russia out as a member of the Security Council.

He says if the council cannot find a way to help stop Russia's actions in Ukraine it should "dissolve", because it proves "there is nothing that you can do besides conversation".

He finishes his speech to applause and asks the audience to watch a video next - although technical difficulties mean we're hearing from a few council members before that happens.

Paul Adams
BBC Diplomatic correspondent

As expected, President Volodymyr Zelensky launched a ferocious, passionate attack on the Russian military for its alleged violations in Bucha and elsewhere.

“The Russian military searched for and purposefully killed anyone who served our country,” he says, as Russia’s UN ambassador looks on.

“They killed entire families, adults and children, and they tried to burn the bodies.”

The catalogue of horrors Zelensky lists includes throats slashed, limbs cut off, and women raped in front of their children.

He says there’s no difference between this and the actions of terrorists, except that Russia is a member of the UN Security Council.

This is the speech of a man who feels he has the highest of moral high grounds.

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky continues to list the atrocities he alleges Russian forces have committed during the invasion.

Speaking to the UN Security Council via translators, he says in the city of Bucha “there is not a single crime they would not commit”.

He claims people were shot in the street, in their homes, thrown into wells and crushed by tanks in the middle of the road "just for the pleasure" of the Russian soldiers.

He repeats his claim that the actions of the Russians is much like that of the terrorist group, Islamic State, and that President Putin's propaganda seeks to "export" his own hatred into other countries beyond Ukraine.

Where is the security that the security council needs to deliver, he asks.

"Where is the peace? Where are those guarantees that the UN needs to guarantee?"

He says the world is yet to see what further war crimes the Russian military may have committed in other parts of Ukraine, further to the alleged killings in Bucha.

"Geography may be different or various, but cruelty is the same, crimes are the same, and accountability must be inevitable," he says.

Image source, United Nations

Zelensky tells the UN Security Council he is addressing them on behalf of victims of Russia.

Speaking to the council for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine, he says Russian troops have killed civilians and raped women.

Zelensky's comments follow his visit to the town of Bucha on Monday, where the bodies of dead Ukrainian civilians were seen.

He accuses Russia of committing genocide.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is now addressing the United Nations Security Council.

We'll bring you updates on what he has to say.

Martin Griffiths, from the UN's department for humanitarian affairs, is up next at the Security Council.

He draws attention to the huge number of people who have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion and the toll this has taken on neighbouring countries trying to accommodate refugees.

Griffiths, who is speaking to the meeting virtually from Geneva, says more than a quarter of the population of Ukraine has fled during the conflict.

These figures "will continue to rise until we can find a pause, and some peace", he adds.

Griffiths adds that "perilous conditions" are hampering the efforts of humanitarian workers to help the tens of thousands of people who remain trapped in the besieged port city of Mariupol.

Civilians must be able to move to safer areas without fear of attack, he urges.

Image source, Reuters

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has been speaking to the Security Council ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky's appearance.

Guterres says he will "never forget" seeing images of dead civilians in Bucha, adding that he was shocked by the emerging evidence of other war crimes allegedly carried out by Russia.

He says it's also his duty to call the council's attention to the serious consequences of the war in Ukraine on the global economy.

Some 74 developing countries are particularly vulnerable to spiking costs for food, energy and fertilisers, he says - and the council member states must do what they can to protect people.

"This is not a time for protectionism," he said.

Rob Cameron
BBC Prague Correspondent

Image source, EPA

Turning away from the UN Security Council for a moment, the Czech Republic's defence minister appears to have confirmed the country is sending tanks to Ukraine.

Jana Cernochova said on Twitter, external that the country is sending "essential military equipment" to Ukraine, after a social media post showed T-72 tanks and armoured vehicles loaded on flatbed railway wagons, apparently in the Czech Republic.

Cernochova said she would not give more details for fear of helping Russia.

The Wall Street Journal, external, quoting Czech and Slovak defence officials, said it was the first time a foreign country has provided Ukraine with tanks since the war started.

Earlier, Czech news website Echo24, external said the consignment consisted of several dozen older, unmodernised, Soviet-era T-72 main battle tanks as well as BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles that had previously belonged to the Czech Army's active reserves.

The German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported recently that Berlin had lifted its objections to a private Czech arms dealer exporting 56 ex-East German BMP-1s to Ukraine.

A meeting of the United Nations Security Council has just begun.

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky will make a virtual appearance in about 30 minutes' time. It will be the first time he's addressed the council since Russia invaded his country at the end of February.

Before that we'll hear from three key people:

• Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General
• Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for the department for humanitarian affairs
• Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for the department of political affairs

Stick with us for all the latest updates.

Stage set for recriminations and counter claims at UN Security Councilpublished at 14:54 British Summer Time 5 April 2022

14:54 BST 5 April 2022

Paul Adams
BBC Diplomatic correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to speak virtually at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council this afternoon. Here our diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams gives a preview of what to expect.

The UN Security Council has already been the scene of angry debates over Ukraine.

With Russia, a permanent member, now accused of war crimes, which it furiously denies, the stage is set for another round of recriminations, claims and counter claims.

President Zelensky, addressing the Security Council for the first time, will doubtless express his horror at what he saw with his own eyes during yesterday’s visit to Bucha.

Image source, EPA

He’ll argue that Russia is engaged in genocide and that the world should do more to help Ukraine defend itself.

Ihor Zhovka, deputy head of Zelensky’s office, told the BBC that Ukraine needed tanks and missiles, in order to liberate more cities from Russian control.

More weaponry is flowing in, but the West is also gearing up for fresh waves of sanctions against Moscow, with the EU expected to adopt more restrictions on Russian fossil fuels tomorrow and G7 foreign ministers meeting to discuss other measures on Thursday.

Image source, EPA

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has set out proposals for new sanctions targeting Russia's economy.

In a statement, she accused Moscow of “waging a cruel and ruthless war” and said its alleged atrocities in Ukraine “cannot and will not be left unanswered".

Her six measures include:

1. An import ban on coal from Russia
2. A full transaction ban on four key Russian banks - among them the country’s second largest, VTB
3. A ban on Russian ships and Russian-operated ships from accessing EU ports
4. Further bans on exports, targeting areas in which Russia is vulnerable, such as transportation equipment
5. New import bans on products including seafood, liquor, and wood
6. Additional targeted measures which include halting financial support for Russian public bodies

The plans require the approval of the EU's 27 member states.

Previously, there have been divisions within the EU about which action to take against Russia - with countries like Germany heavily reliant on imports of Russian fuels.

For more on how sanctions work, you can read our earlier piece here.

Moscow continues to deny any involvement in the alleged war crimes in Bucha and elsewhere.