UN calls emergency assembly after Russian strikes kill 31: ‘Attacks against civilians are unacceptable’ | EUROtoday

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The United Nations Security Council known as an pressing assembly to debate the escalating state of affairs in Ukraine after Russia launched its greatest air assault of the conflict to date.

The assembly was known as at 9pm UK time on Friday after Ukraine requested an pressing session to handle missile and drone strikes by Russia.

“Once again, Ukrainians are forced to spend the holidays seeking shelter, clearing the rubble, and burying the dead, amidst freezing temperatures,” mentioned Khaled Khiari, assistant secretary-general on the UN division of political and peacebuilding affairs, whereas briefing members.

The United States, France and Britain have been among the many nations that condemned the assaults on Ukraine.

The assaults have been “a desperate and futile attempt by Russia to regain momentum” in its conflict with Ukraine, Britain’s ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward advised the council. “They will not succeed.”

Ukraine‘s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said earlier on X/Twitter that Ukraine and three dozen other UN member states had requested the security council meeting after the attacks, “which resulted in multiple civilian casualties and heavy destruction of civilian infrastructure”.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, secretary-general António Guterres said the attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine “violate international humanitarian law, are unacceptable and must end immediately”.

At least 31 Ukrainians have been confirmed dead and more than 160 others are wounded, according to officials, as rescuers pulled bodies out from debris and firefighters struggled to control blazes in targeted buildings.

In an 18-hour onslaught, Russia launched 158 missiles and drones targeting locations across Ukraine, including in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia regions among others.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned Russia used each form of weapon it needed to launch the most important aerial bombardment of the conflict.

Meanwhile, Poland, a Nato member, mentioned a Russian missile appeared to have flown into its airspace earlier than returning to Ukraine.

“Everything indicates that a Russian missile intruded into Poland’s airspace. It was monitored by us on radars and left the airspace. We have confirmation of this on radars and from allies” in Nato, mentioned Poland’s armed forces chief, General Wieslaw Kukula.

Nato secretary basic Jens Stoltenberg mentioned on X, previously Twitter, that he had spoken to Poland’s president concerning the “missile incident” and acknowledged that Nato was vigilant and monitoring the state of affairs “as the facts are established”.

Additional reporting with businesses