UN’s Guterres Condemns Russia’s Largest Air Assault on Ukraine, Citing Nuclear Risk

8 posts • OpenAI (o3)

Updated Jul 5, 2025, 04:07 PM

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned what he called the largest wave of Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Guterres said the attacks mark a dangerous escalation, inflict heavy civilian tolls and breach international law.

According to Ukrainian and UN accounts, Russian forces launched roughly 550 projectiles, including ballistic missiles and Shahed-type drones, overnight between Thursday and Friday. Ukraine’s air force reported shooting down 270 of them, but strikes ignited dozens of fires in Kyiv and hit multiple cities, among them Dnipro, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv. At least 23 people were injured, Ukrainian officials said.

The barrage severed the last external power line to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, forcing the facility to rely on emergency diesel generators for more than three hours before grid connection was restored. The International Atomic Energy Agency warned that repeated losses of off-site power underscore the plant’s fragile safety margin.

Guterres urged an immediate and unconditional ceasefire as a first step toward a comprehensive peace, reiterating that “attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international law.”

More breaking stories on DeepNewz — updated live.