The Ukrainian authorities reported this Thursday the death of at least eight people and numerous injuries as a result of a new wave of nighttime attacks by the Russian Armed Forces against different areas of the country, just a day after the bombings that left 17 dead and 50 injured in Kiev.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine has communicated that three of the fatalities have been recorded in the city of Balaklia, in the Kharkiv province. The projectiles have impacted a private area, causing severe damage to homes and provoking several fires that have already been extinguished.
The regional governor of Kharkiv, Oleg Sinegubov, has pointed out that in the last 24 hours about fifteen people have been injured by Russian attacks on around twenty localities and settlements in the area.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Oleksandr Ganzha has confirmed the death of another five people following the bombings recorded in the cities of Pavlograd and Kamianske, where another ten injuries have also been counted.
At the same time, in the Sumy province, Russian forces have launched up to eight guided bombs against areas in the north and center of the region, of which only one has been intercepted by Ukrainian air defenses. The attack, which lasted for eight minutes, has left a dozen injured.
In Kherson, local authorities have denounced a new "act of terror against the civilian population" by the Russian Army, after a drone struck a bus in the village of Komishani, injuring six people.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian Air Force has claimed to have shot down 66 drones out of just over a hundred launched by Russia, along with other types of projectiles, including Onyx anti-ship missiles and J-31P anti-radiation missiles, during the past night.
Guterres warns of an "alarming trend" of attacks against civilians
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has "strongly" condemned the latest attacks carried out by both Kiev and Moscow, in a statement in which he expressed "deep concern over the ongoing escalation of the conflict" between the two countries.
"This latest series of attacks follows an alarming trend of intensification of attacks against populated areas, which (...) has caused an unprecedented increase in the number of civilian casualties and widespread destruction of residential and civil infrastructure in Ukraine, as well as, increasingly, in the Russian Federation," lamented in a statement disseminated by his deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq.
The Portuguese diplomat recalled that attacks against civilians and infrastructure of this kind are "a clear violation of International Humanitarian Law" and demanded their "immediate" cessation.
Guterres has also expressed "deep concern about the growing risks to navigation security in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, as well as the possible repercussions on global food security," while demanding that "all parties involved ensure freedom of navigation (...) and protect civilian ports and maritime infrastructure," under International Law.
In this context, he reiterated his call for Ukraine and Russia to accept an "urgent de-escalation that leads to a total, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire, as well as a just, sustainable, and global peace."