The United Nations (UN) Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to address a sharp escalation in Russian attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure, according to Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Andrii Melnyk.
The push for the emergency session was led by Latvia and backed by Denmark, France, Greece and the UK, following a relentless two-day Russian barrage that reportedly involved around 1,600 missiles and drones and left at least 24 people dead in Ukraine.
Melnyk said that between May 4 and May 11 alone, Russian forces launched approximately 600 attack drones and 16 ballistic missiles against Ukrainian cities and communities, killing more than 40 civilians and injuring more than 200.
The letter, addressed to the president of the UN Security Council, cited a series of recent attacks, including strikes on Zaporizhzhia, Kramatorsk, Dnipro, Sumy and Chernihiv. It said Russian attacks had hit residential districts, industrial facilities, a gas extraction site and a regional prosecutor’s office.
According to the letter, Russia continued shelling and drone strikes even during the May 9-11 ceasefire declared by President Donald Trump, with Russian forces carrying out assault operations, airstrikes, shelling and kamikaze drone attacks across the front line.
The meeting comes as UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed alarm over a strike on a clearly marked UN vehicle in Kherson this week.
“Alarmed that a clearly-marked @UN vehicle was struck twice in Kherson city in Ukraine this week,” Guterres wrote on X on Friday.
“Civilians & civilian objects must be respected & protected at all times. International law must be respected,” he added.
The vehicle was part of a UN humanitarian mission delivering aid to civilians in Kherson’s heavily targeted Ostriv area, within the city’s Korabelnyi district. The mission was delivering food and solar lamps when the vehicle was hit.