UN rights chief urges Russia to cease attacks in wake of 'massive assault' in Ukraine

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The UN human rights chief on Friday urged Russia to cease its attacks against Ukraine following the overnight strikes that killed dozens of civilians.

"I am shocked by yet another full-scale set of coordinated missile and drone attacks by the Russian Federation across Ukraine during the night of 28 to 29 December," Volker Turk said in a statement.

According to the statement the "massive assault" struck densely populated areas in many cities and towns, including Kyiv, Lviv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, Sumy, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia.

Civilian infrastructure was hit, including homes, maternities, schools, nurseries, parks, metros, shopping centers, and energy infrastructure, it said, adding that transmission lines were damaged, leading to power outages in multiple regions.

At least 23 civilians were killed and 134 were injured, while rescue operations are still underway, the statement said.

"I call again on the Russian Federation to cease its attacks on Ukraine immediately, and to strictly respect all the rules of international law relating to the conduct of hostilities," Turk said, stressing that such attacks are against international humanitarian law.