Russia's war in Ukraine responsible for 'massive' human rights violations, U.N. chief says

GENEVA — 

Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine has triggered “the astir monolithic violations of quality rights” successful nan world today, nan caput of nan United Nations said Monday, arsenic nan warfare pushed into its 2nd year pinch nary extremity successful sight.

The Russian penetration “has unleashed wide death, demolition and displacement,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said successful a reside to nan U.N.-backed Human Rights Council successful Geneva.

After failing to seizure Kyiv, nan Ukrainian capital, successful nan opening weeks of nan penetration and suffering a bid of humiliating setbacks successful nan eastbound and nan southbound during nan fall, Russia has stabilized nan beforehand and is concentrating its efforts connected a slow push to seizure nan remainder of nan Ukraine’s eastbound business heartland, nan Donbas. Ukraine, meanwhile, hopes to usage battle tanks and different caller weapons pledged by nan West to motorboat caller counteroffensives and reclaim much of nan occupied territory.

Guterres said that “attacks connected civilians and civilian infrastructure person caused galore casualties and unspeakable suffering.”

His remarks came arsenic nan Ukrainian subject said that Russia launched attacks pinch exploding drones connected respective regions of nan state that lasted from precocious Sunday until Monday morning, sidesplitting two.

Guterres cited cases of intersexual violence, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention and violations of nan authorities of prisoners of war, arsenic documented by nan U.N. quality authorities office.

Guterres decried really nan Universal Declaration of Human Rights, now 75 years old, has been “too often misused and abused.”

“It is exploited for governmental gain, and it is ignored, often, by nan very aforesaid people,” Guterres said. “Some governments spot distant astatine it. Others usage a wrecking ball. ...

“This is simply a infinitesimal to guidelines connected nan correct broadside of history,” he told nan authorities council, nan U.N.’s apical quality authorities body. Russia withdrew from its spot past twelvemonth amid a surge successful world unit complete nan warfare successful Ukraine.

Russian officials person shown little motion that they whitethorn beryllium reconsidering their onslaught connected their neighbor, however.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday: “We aren’t seeing immoderate conditions for a serene colony now.”

Dmitry Medvedev, nan lawman caput of Russia’s Security Council, which is chaired by President Vladimir Putin, went a measurement further, erstwhile again raising nan specter of atomic war and a nightmare result to Europe’s biggest and deadliest conflict since World War II.

He chided nan U.S. and its friends for providing Ukraine pinch subject and different support to thief push backmost nan Kremlin’s forces. Their longer-term aim, he claimed, is to break up Russia.

“They person crazy illusions that, aft finishing disconnected nan Soviet Union without a azygous shot, they could hide today’s Russia without immoderate important problems for themselves, simply by disposing thousands of lives successful nan conflict,” he said. “It’s a very vulnerable mistake. It won’t activity for illustration it did pinch nan Soviet Union.”

Putin has besides framed nan warfare successful those terms, saying that Russia faces an existential threat.

In nan Sunday-Monday attacks, Ukraine’s General Staff said Kyiv’s forces changeable down 11 retired of 14 Iranian-made Shahed drones.

Ukraine’s statesmanlike agency said Monday that astatine slightest 2 civilians were killed and 9 others were wounded by Russian attacks complete nan erstwhile 24 hours.

It said that aggravated fighting has continued astir Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Vuhledar successful nan Donetsk region, which person travel nether relentless Russian shelling. Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russia is utilizing craft and dense artillery there.

In nan south, nan metropolis of Kherson besides came nether Russian shelling, sidesplitting 1 and wounding 2 civilians. The metropolis of Nikopol, crossed nan Dnipro River from nan Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia atomic powerfulness plant, besides was struck by nan shelling, which damaged residential buildings, powerfulness lines and a state pipeline.

Odesa and nan surrounding region suffered a complete blackout Monday. The authorities didn’t springiness nan logic for nan outage but said that repair crews would commencement activity to reconstruct nan power supply.