Russian rockets blasted into central Kyiv Thursday, stunning UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and wounding ten, in the capital’s first such rocket attack since mid-April.
At around 17:15 GMT, a powerful explosion shook the Ukrainian capital, sending emergency vehicles running towards a residential neighborhood in the western part of the city, in an attack that stunned the UN head and his colleagues.
The emergency services said that one attack damaged two floors of a 25-story residential structure, while AFP journalists witnessed a low-rise building engulfed in flames, with black smoke billowing into the air and rescuers on the scene.
Twelve fire engines were dispatched to extinguish the blaze, with rescuers verifying that ten persons were injured in the strikes, up from three before. Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, stated there were “two hits in the Shevchenkovsky area,” one of which impacted “the bottom levels of a residential structure.
“The incident rattled the UN team, but a spokeswoman stated that everyone was “safe.” “It is a combat zone, but it is frightening that it happened so close to us,” Saviano Abreu, a UN humanitarian office spokesperson, told AFP, without specifying how close they were to the site of impact.
The incident occurred less than an hour after Guterres and Volodymyr Zelensky gave a joint news conference 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) apart. “Today, shortly following the conclusion of our discussions in Kyiv, Russian rockets launched an attack on the city. Five missiles, “Zelensky stated.
“This reveals a great deal about the Russian leadership’s efforts to degrade the UN and everything it stands for.” He stated that it necessitated “an equally forceful reply.”
Ukraine’s Minister for External Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, condemned the incident as a “heinous act of savagery,” while Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov described it as an “attack on the Secretary General’s security and on global security.”
The strikes happened only two days after Guterres met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, with the Russian leader expressing hope that discussions might resolve the crisis.
Earlier this month, on his first visit to Ukraine since Russia started a full-fledged invasion on February 24, Guterres visited many towns and villages surrounding Kyiv where Russian soldiers are accused of murdering civilians.
“In the twenty-first century, war is an absurdity. The conflict is inhumane “He made the statement following visits to locations such as Bucha, where dozens of dead dressed in civilian clothing were discovered, some with their hands bound and others buried in shallow graves.
Later in the news conference with Zelensky, Guterres stated that the Security Council’s attempts to “prevent and halt” Russia’s conflict in Ukraine had fallen short.
“To be clear, the Security Council did not do all possible to avert or stop this conflict. And this is a cause of considerable disappointment, irritation, and outrage “‘He stated.
Edited By : Khushi Thakur
Published By : Shubham Ghulaxe
