“Like millions of Ukrainians, I spent many hours in a shelter this morning because of the continuous wave of attacks on Ukraine by the Russian Armed Forces,” Matthias Schmale said in a statement issued on Monday.
He added that there were reports of civilians being killed and injured, while civilian infrastructure was heavily damaged.
Young people’s lives are disrupted
Particularly the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine wrote on social media platform X that boys and girls “woke up today to air raid alarms and explosions.”
The office also shared photos of children and families taking shelter at metro stations in the capital Kyiv.
Even war has rules
The attacks come after a recent Ukrainian offensive in Russia’s Kursk region and were among the most intense in weeks, according to media reports.
At least five people were killed in the airstrikes, which mainly targeted key energy infrastructure, causing power outages and disrupting water supplies.
Earlier this year, the United Nations and partners reported that Russia had stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, with the UN human rights office, OHCHRrecord 50 incidents in April alone.
Mr Schmale ended his statement by saying it was “unacceptable” that Ukrainians had to seek safety in metro stations and other shelters instead of going about their lives.
“Even in war there are rules,” he said.International humanitarian law must be respected. Civilians must be protected.“
Urgent call to action
On behalf of the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, United Nations Population FundUkraine also condemned the air attack in a post on X.
Massimo Diana said the attacks were “tragic in claiming lives” in the city of Lutsk and the Zhytomyr region.
“We condemn these deadly attacks on critical infrastructure and call for urgent action to protect civilians,” he said.
