Russia condemned at UNSC over civilian attacks in Ukraine - NHKニュース

Participants at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council have denounced Russia for violating international law by targeting civilian facilities in Ukraine.

Gotoh Kayoko, director of the UN's Europe and Central Asia Division, reported to the meeting on Monday that at least 55 people were killed and 45 others were missing following a Russian attack on a humanitarian aid distribution site in the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia on November 2. She also said it was followed by more Russian airstrikes against a hospital and a train platform.

The UN official added that as such attacks continue to escalate, civilian casualties in Ukraine are reaching record highs.

Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, said that an increasing number of people in Russia have also been killed or wounded in Ukrainian attacks.

But Ukraine's UN ambassador, Andrii Melnyk, urged him to "stop putting on an equal footing Russia's genocidal, deliberate and systematic attacks against Ukraine, against our civilian population," with what he called Ukraine's legitimate strikes on military targets in Russia, carried out in exercise of its inherent right to self-defense.

Other representatives also condemned Russia's strikes targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure as violations of international law. They also expressed concern that Moscow's attacks on energy infrastructure could increase the suffering of Ukrainians during the coldest and harshest time of the year.

Some council members welcomed a six-day ceasefire in a Ukrainian city brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump.

But Nebenzia dismissed calls for additional ceasefires, saying they are an attempt by the West to give Kyiv time to rebuild its military capabilities.