By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Thursday said that he was appalled by a wave of attacks that have killed civilians across Ukraine over the past 4 days.
OHCHR noted that a strike on two public buses in Kramatorsk left at least 30 civilians dead, according to local authorities.
Turk said that at least 85 civilians have been killed and 346 injured in Russian strikes, described the scale and manner of the attacks as “reprehensible”.
He noted that long-range strikes on electricity substations and power plants have also left many parts of Ukraine without power.
Ukraine already faces emergency and rolling outages, even before colder temperatures and shorter days drive up demand for electricity.
Mr Türk said he was also deeply concerned by reports of Ukrainian attacks that have killed and wounded civilians in occupied territory and in Russia.
“Civilians are strictly protected under the laws of war and may never be attacked,” he said.
He warned that deliberate attacks on civilians could amount to war crimes and that those responsible must be held to account.
