UN condemns deadly airstrikes across Ukraine

By Betul Yuruk

UNITED NATIONS (AA) - The UN condemned on Friday a wave of deadly airstrikes that killed and injured dozens of civilians across Ukraine.

At least 14 people, including a three-year-old toddler, were killed on Friday in a series of Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, according to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.

UN acting humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine Matthew Hollingsworth said that the indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas must stop.

There were also deadly attacks reported in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk.

A missile hit a bus with civilians in the center of Donetsk, leaving seven people dead and eight others injured, Mayor Alexey Kulemzin told Russian news agency TASS.

"It is an important reminder that civilians and civilian infrastructure are protected under international and humanitarian law, and they must never be targeted," UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

More than 8,500 Ukrainian civilians were killed and 15,000 others injured since the beginning of Russia’s war on its neighbor Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, according to the UN.