Source: UN News: Tuesday, April 21, 2026 00:01 AM
Russian military forces again carried out a series of attacks on Wednesday night targeting the Ukrainian cities of Dnipro, Kiev and Odessa, resulting in a large number of civilian casualties. Mathias Schmale, the top UN humanitarian official in Ukraine, strongly condemned the attacks, saying the cycle of violence against people trying to make a living must be stopped. Standing outside a residential building damaged in the bombing in Dnipro on Thursday, he said in his message: Stop these attacks. 12 people, including a child, have been killed and many injured in the air strikes. Efforts are underway to rescue people from the debris and the death toll is expected to increase. Tweet URL
According to Ukrainian officials, attacks with 19 ballistic missiles, about 700 drones and cruise missiles were carried out in the last two days, including the capital Kiev. Most of the drones and missiles were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, but some of them escaped the perimeter, causing damage to residential buildings in Odessa, Kiev and Dnipro. A 12-year-old child was among the dead, while nearly 100 people were injured. Humanitarian coordinator Mathias Schmale said that once again, families have seen their homes destroyed and destroyed in a matter of moments. “Others have spent the night huddling in shelters or at home, consoling children frightened by constant alarms and explosions.” On February 24, 2022, Russian military forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, causing massive loss of life and property and a deep humanitarian crisis. In recent years, there has been an increase in drone and missile attacks targeting energy installations and power systems. Such attacks have become a daily occurrence in communities far from the front lines of the fighting. In cities like Dnipro, local residents have been enduring horrific attacks for the past several nights, while in Odessa these attacks have become an almost daily threat. Matthias Schmale said that we should not be forced to count the number of civilian casualties every day. “We have to stop the cycle of violence against people just trying to make a living.” Risks for ChildrenFor children in Ukraine, the risks have increased over the past few weeks. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission, the number of child casualties has increased by 65 percent in the month of March this year and 89 children have either died or been injured in the attacks. United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has confirmed at least 3,452 children have been killed or injured in Ukraine since February 2022. However, this number is based only on incidents that have been confirmed by the UN and the actual figure may be much higher. During the war that has continued for the past 4 years, children have been forced to flee their homes several times. According to a recent UNICEF survey, 1 in 3 adolescents aged 15 to 19 years has been displaced at least twice, the most common reason being to seek shelter. UNICEF said that no child is safe in the country. “Children are at constant risk of attacks wherever they are.”