Russia attacked Kyiv with two missiles during United Nations Chief Antonio Guterres visit to the Ukrainian capital on Thursday, AFP reported. Ten residents were injured as the missiles hit a 25-storey apartment, destroying two floors.
The United Nations team was shaken by the attack, but was safe, said the global body’s spokesperson Saviano Abreu. “It is a war zone but it is shocking that it happened close to us,” he said.
On April 3, Ukraine had claimed that it had gained control of Kyiv after Russian forces had retreated from the city. The troops were focusing on southern and eastern parts of the country, the Ukraine government had said.
The attack on Thursday reflected Russia’s attitude to global institutions like the United Nations, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, according to The Guardian.
“[...]About the efforts of the Russian leadership to humiliate the UN and everything that the organisation represents,” he said. “Therefore, it requires a strong response.”
Mykhailo Podolyak, the advisor to the head of the Ukraine president’s office, questioned why Russia still retained its permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.
“The day before he [UN chief] was sitting at a long table in the Kremlin, and today explosions are above his head,” he said. “Postcard from Moscow? Recall why Russia still takes a seat on the UN Security Council?
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the Kyiv strikes had demonstrated Russia’s “attitude towards Ukraine, Europe and the world”.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. The Kremlin described its actions as a “special operation” to demilitarise and “de-Nazify” Ukraine. Ukraine and Western allies have said that this is a baseless pretext for a war of choice.
As per the United Nations’ human rights office, the conflict has killed at least 2,829 Ukrainians as of April 28.
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