Russia, Ukraine trade barbs at UN over deadly Kyiv strikes

Russia and Ukraine clashed at the UN Security Council on Thursday over Russian strikes on Kyiv earlier this month, with each side accusing the other of targeting civilians and spreading disinformation.

The meeting was convened at Ukraine’s request following a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack overnight on May 23-24.

Ukraine’s UN ambassador, Andriy Melnyk, described the assault as “the most devastating” attack on Kyiv since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

“The night from May 23 to May 24 in Kyiv, my native city, was hit without exaggeration with a strike which can be compared to a true Armageddon,” Melnyk told the council.

Citing Ukrainian figures, he said Russia launched dozens of cruise and ballistic missiles, including Kinzhal and Zircon missiles, along with more than 600 drones. He said more than 100 people were injured and at least four were killed.

Melnyk said residential buildings, schools, cultural institutions and government facilities were damaged, accusing Russia of carrying out “war crimes and crimes against humanity” against civilians.

He also rejected Russian claims that the strikes were retaliation for a Ukrainian attack on a college and dormitory in Starobilsk in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine’s Luhansk region, where Moscow says 21 people were killed.

Calling the incident a “fake story,” Melnyk argued that Russian accounts contained inconsistencies and said Ukraine targets only legitimate military objectives in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Russia’s UN ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, accused Kyiv of trying to divert attention from what he described as a “barbaric targeted strike” on the Starobilsk educational facility.

“This tragedy claimed the lives of 21 people, primarily young girls, and 44 people were injured,” he said, comparing the attack to acts committed by Nazi forces during World War II.

Nebenzya said Russia’s subsequent strikes targeted military command centers, air bases and defense-industrial facilities.

“Strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine were not planned, and they were not carried out,” he said.

He said the attack was a direct response to what Moscow considers Ukrainian “terror” against civilians and warned that Russia would continue striking military-related targets across Ukraine.

Briefing the council earlier, Assistant UN Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said the strikes on Kyiv had involved up to 90 long-range missiles and 600 drones, including Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

He said at least five people were killed and 112 injured across Ukraine, with Kyiv suffering the heaviest damage in the wave of attacks.

More than 30 cultural sites were reportedly damaged, while debris also struck diplomatic and UN facilities in the capital.