WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address an emergency meeting of G-7 leaders on Tuesday after Russian missile strikes rocked Ukrainian cities.
“Today’s strike killed at least 14 people and 97 were wounded,” Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya said during an emergency session before the international forum.
“Deliberate targeting of civilians is a war crime,” Kyslytsya said, adding that Russian forces launched about 84 missiles against residential buildings, schools, museums, city centers and energy facilities.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack on Monday, calling it an “unacceptable escalation.”
“The Secretary-General is deeply shocked by today’s large-scale missile attacks by the armed forces of the Russian Federation on cities across Ukraine that reportedly resulted in widespread damage to civilian areas and led to dozens of people being killed and injured,” a statement from his office read.
So far, the U.N. estimates that Russia’s war in Ukraine has claimed more than 6,200 civilian lives and led to more than 9,300 injuries. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights adds that the death toll is likely higher.
Monday’s strikes were an apparent tit-for-tat retaliation for an explosion over the weekend on the Kerch bridge, which links Russia to the Crimean Peninsula. The Kremlin placed the blame squarely on Ukraine and vowed a “harsh” response.
“They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth. Destroy our people who are sleeping at home in Zaporizhzhia, kill people who go to work in Dnipro and Kyiv,” Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app as the missile strikes across Ukraine became apparent.
Since Russia’s late February invasion of Ukraine, the G-7 has imposed a slew of coordinated sanctions against Moscow. In addition, Russia was kicked out of the G-8 after its illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The G-7 leaders, which are meeting virtually on Tuesday, also are expected to discuss the mounting global energy crisis and address the implementation of an international cap on the price of Russian oil.
The meeting also comes in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal annexation of four Ukrainian territories and a partial mobilization of about 300,000 men to join the fight in Ukraine, Moscow’s first draft since World War II.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss will use the meeting to urge G-7 members to maintain punishing sanctions on Russia and galvanize more security assistance packages for Ukraine.
“The overwhelming international support for Ukraine’s struggle stands in stark opposition to the isolation of Russia on the international stage. Their bravery in the face of the most brutal acts of violence has earned the people of Ukraine global admiration,” Truss is expected to say.