A collapsed building in the port city of Odessa. — © REUTERS
Several members of the United Nations Security Council condemned Russia’s deadly attack on neighboring Ukraine earlier in the day during an emergency meeting on Friday evening. A senior UN official also called the rocket and drone attacks, which Kyiv said killed at least 30 people, “terrible.”
Saturday, December 30, 2023 at 6:02 PM
In the major attack across Ukraine, schools, a maternity hospital, shopping centers and apartment buildings were hit during the night from Thursday to Friday. At least 160 people were injured. US President Joe Biden spoke of “the heaviest bombing since the war began”.
Most council members, including the United States, France and the United Kingdom, condemned the attack on Ukraine. “Instead of peace, Putin has chosen to mark this holiday season and ring in the new year with an unprecedented number of drone and missile attacks on another UN member state,” said U.S. Representative John Kelley.
“Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law, are unacceptable and must stop immediately,” UN Assistant Secretary-General Mohamed Khiari said, citing a series of escalations by Russia. “Once again, Ukrainians are forced to spend the holidays seeking shelter, clearing rubble and burying the dead amid freezing temperatures,” he added.
China did not condemn the attacks and called for a “political solution” to the war in Ukraine. Friday’s Russian offensive, in which a Russian missile also flew through Polish airspace, was internationally condemned and led to renewed Western promises of military support to Ukraine, which has been repelling the Russian invasion since the end of February 2022.
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