Almost 50 countries condemned what they said were threats by Russia against embassies in Ukraine in a joint statement at the United Nations on Tuesday.
Russia called on Washington to evacuate its Kyiv embassy on Monday, threatening “systematic strikes” on the Ukrainian capital amid similar warnings to other diplomatic missions.
“We also condemn recent threats by Russia to diplomatic institutions and embassies in Kyiv. This is something which we cannot accept,” said the joint statement delivered by Ukrainian UN representative Andriy Melnyk.
The statement was signed by European countries, Japan, South Korea and others. The United States was not among the signatories.
A weekend barrage by Russia involving dozens of drones and missiles killed four people and caused widespread damage across the Ukrainian capital.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres registered his concern over Russian attacks.
“I am deeply concerned by a recent announcement by the Russian Federation to launch consistent and systematic strikes against Ukrainian defense enterprises in Kyiv, as well as against decision making centers and command posts following reports of an Ukrainian drone attack on a college building and dormitory in the Ukrainian city of Starobilsk, presently occupied by the Russian Federation,” Guterres told the UN Security Council.
“Now more than ever it is imperative to avoid any escalation of a conflict that has already exacted a devastating toll on civilians and that risks making the search for peace even more distant.”
Among the weapons Russia used over the weekend was its Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which can travel 10 times the speed of sound and is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, according to Moscow.
The strikes followed Russian accusations that Ukraine hit a vocational school in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region, killing 21 people. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military to retaliate.
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