During Guterres’ visit: sharp criticism of the attack on Kyiv

The federal government has accused Russia of “inhuman behavior” in response to the shelling of Kyiv. Moscow confirmed shelling the capital during UN chief Guterres’ visit.

The Russian missile attack on Kyiv during the visit of UN Secretary-General António Guterres drew sharp international criticism. Russia and Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin have “no respect whatsoever for international law,” said a spokesman for the federal government in Berlin. The Russian actions in Ukraine are “inhuman”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of wanting to “humiliate” the UN. Selenskyj’s advisor Olexyj Arestovych criticized the rocket attacks as “the stupidest variant ever”. Russia “shot Guterres in the back” with this attack.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian criticized “indiscriminate attacks by Russian forces on Kyiv”. He expressed his solidarity with the Ukrainian population as well as Guterres and Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, who was also nearby on Thursday.

A Ukrainian journalist from Radio Liberty was killed in the attack. “Wira Gyritsch died as a result of a Russian missile hitting the building where she lived,” the US-funded radio station said on its website.

Russia confirms shelling of Kyiv

The rockets fell 3.5 km from the place where UN chief Guterres and Zelenskyj had ended a press conference less than an hour earlier. A UN spokesman was “shocked”.

Russia had already confirmed that it had shelled the Ukrainian capital on Thursday. “High-precision, long-range airborne weapons of the Russian Air Force forces have destroyed the production buildings of the missile and space company Artiom in Kyiv,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.

A series of airstrikes also hit several substations at Ukrainian railway junctions, including Fastow near Kyiv. It was the first Russian attack on Kyiv in almost two weeks.

According to Zelenskyj, five rockets hit the capital. Among other things, a 25-storey residential building was partially destroyed. According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, a body has been recovered from the rubble so far.

Guterres met President Putin in Moscow on Tuesday. He then traveled on to Ukraine, where on Thursday he also visited several Kiev suburbs where, according to Ukrainian sources, Russian soldiers are said to have committed war crimes.

Russian troops continue to advance in eastern Ukraine

Meanwhile, the Russian army continued to advance in eastern Ukraine. According to Ukrainian sources, the Kharkiv and Donbass regions are particularly affected. According to Kharkiv governor Oleg Synegubov, five people were killed in bombing raids on the city and its environs.

Russian troops fired rockets at the port city of Odessa in southern Ukraine. The air defense shot down three Russian missiles, said the local military representative Maxim Marchenko. “We have the sky under control.” A Russian reconnaissance drone had previously been destroyed.

Ukrainian troops have shelled and damaged an oil depot in the pro-Russian separatist-held city of Donetsk, according to the RIA news agency. The agency relies on a representative of the separatists. Images published online showed the plant burning.

A local Russian governor reported shelling on a checkpoint in Russia’s Kursk region bordering Ukraine. The border guards and the military returned fire, Roman Starovoyt said. There were no casualties or damage.

Russians capture two Britons

Meanwhile, the UK-based aid organization Presidium Network reported the arrest of two British volunteers by Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

The two men, who are not part of the Presidium Network, were arrested at a military checkpoint south of Zaporizhia on charges of espionage, the organization said.

Evacuation action planned in Mariupol

The Ukrainian government says it wants to bring civilians from the besieged Azov-Stahl industrial site in Mariupol to safety today. “Today an operation is planned to get the civilians out of the plant,” the presidential office in Kyiv said, without giving any further details.

During a Russian attack on the last defenders of Mariupol, who were holed up in the steelworks, the field hospital set up there apparently came under heavy fire. According to a report in “Ukrajinska Pravda”, at least one soldier was killed and around 100 patients suffered further injuries.

According to Ukraine, the hospital, in which around 500 wounded and doctors were staying, was specifically attacked. The information could not be independently verified.

Most recently, Guterres had tried to evacuate people from the factory premises surrounded by Russian troops. The soldiers entrenched there refuse to capitulate despite repeated requests from the Russian side.