UN condemns ‘heinous’ Russian attack on Ukraine city center

By AP 19 August 2023, 7:10 pm

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A local resident stands amid the debris and shattered glass of windows following a missile strike in Chernihiv, on August 19, 2023. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP)

The UN blasts a “heinous” attack on Ukraine’s northern city of Chernihiv that killed seven people and wounded more than 100.

“It is heinous to attack the main square of a large city, in the morning, while people are out walking, some going to church to celebrate a religious day for many Ukrainians,” says Denise Brown, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine.

She was referring to the Orthodox holiday of the Transfiguration of the Lord, which saw some in Chernihiv attending church services in the morning.

“I condemn this repeated pattern of Russian strikes on populated areas of Ukraine… Attacks directed against civilians or civilian objects are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law,” she adds.