© OCHA/V. Andrievskaya Work to neutralize a building after a massive attack on Kiev, Ukraine. Ukraine: UN records sharp increase in attacks on civilians and infrastructure Peace and Security
UN records rapidly deteriorating situation for civilians in Ukraine amid new wave of long-range strikes hitting residential areas and critical infrastructure.
The representative of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Tamin Al-Khitan, called the scale and intensity of the attacks “shocking” and stressed the need to immediately stop the escalation. He recalled that civilians and civilian infrastructure are under special protection of international humanitarian law, and deliberate attacks on them “are war crimes.” In recent days, numerous attacks have been recorded throughout Ukraine, leading to the death and injury of civilians. On Sunday, Kyiv was hit for the seventh time in a month, with at least 35 ballistic and hypersonic cruise missiles fired at the capital in the biggest attack on the city since the full-scale invasion began. One person was killed, 20 were injured, destruction was recorded in five districts. In Zaporozhye, planning aerial bombs destroyed part of a five-story residential building, which led to the death of three and injuries to 41 people, including seven children. In Korotych near Kharkov, an attack on the Novaya Poshta terminal led to the death of four employees and injuries to twenty people. Risks for maritime transport are also growing. On Sunday, cruise missiles hit a Guinea-Bissau-flagged merchant ship shortly after leaving the port near Odessa. Ten deaths were reported, including at least eight crew members, and seven wounded. The UN is also recording reports of ongoing long-range attacks by Ukraine on targets in the Russian Federation. According to Russian authorities, on the night of July 17–18, attacks on Wildberries logistics centers in the Moscow and Tambov regions led to the death of eight people and injuries to 86 others.