UN warns of 'horrific impact' on civilians from Kharkiv attacks
The United Nations warned Monday of the "horrific impact" on civilians of Russia's offensive in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, and called on Russia to halt its attacks.
© Kharkiv Military Administration/Anadolu via Getty Images
Mundo Guerra na Ucrânia
The offensive in Russia’s border region that began on 10 May has destroyed residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, while entire communities have been uprooted, with more than 10,000 people displaced, the UN said.
Hundreds were forced to abandon their homes, sheltering for days in basements without electricity amid heavy shelling, said Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) has recorded 35 civilians killed and 137 injured as a result of renewed Russian attacks in Kharkiv region over the past two weeks.
More than half of the casualties, both those killed and injured, were over the age of 60, indicating the “disproportionate number” of older people who remain on the front lines, unable or unwilling to flee.
After interviewing almost 100 residents in these areas, HRMMU said the vast majority had chosen to stay in their homes despite the risks because the situation outside was even worse.
Throssell told reporters in Geneva, Switzerland, that many of those displaced had headed for Kharkiv city, the provincial capital of the same name, seeking shelter.
However, the city, the second largest in Ukraine after Kyiv, has itself come under sustained Russian bombardment.
“We reiterate our call on Russia to strictly abide by all the rules of international law governing the conduct of hostilities and to immediately cease its attacks on Ukraine,” Throssell said.
The spokesperson lamented that “three years into Russia’s attack on Ukraine, with no end in sight, lives, homes and futures continue to be destroyed”, according to the Spanish news agency Europa Press.
“The long-term impact of this war will be felt for generations, and the task of rebuilding shattered communities, already immense, grows larger with each passing day of violence and destruction,” she said.
Overnight, air strikes continued in Kharkiv, although there were no casualties, unlike the previous night, when seven people were killed and 15 injured.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, says it launched the offensive in north-eastern Ukraine to create a buffer zone that would prevent Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
Read Also: Zelensky afirma estar em Kharkiv em plenos ataques da ofensiva russa (Portuguese version)
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