Grim details continued to emerge on Thursday in the aftermath of Russia's massive overnight attacks on the Ukrainian capital and other cities, with early reports indicating that at least nine people were killed and dozens injured.
Reports indicate that the latest Russian strikes damaged 12 buildings in the capital, causing widespread damage to homes, businesses and key services, while phones have been heard ringing from the rubble.
Other Ukrainian cities targeted included Zhytomyr- due west of Kyiv - and the northeastern cities of Sumy and Kharkiv - where the authorities reported 24 drone and missile strikes in total.
"The casualty count is expected to rise as emergency teams continue search-and-rescue operations amid the rubble," said the UN aid coordination office, OCHA .
The development follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's reported decision on Wednesday to reject a US-led proposal to seek a peace deal with Russia that would have involved ceding territory lost during the war. In theory, this would include the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, in addition to Crimea, which Russia annexed illegally in 2014.
"Last night's large-scale attack by the armed forces of the Russian Federation on residential areas in Kyiv and surrounding regions is yet another appalling violation of international humanitarian law," said the UN's top aid official in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale.
Children and a pregnant woman were among the more than 70 people injured by Wednesday night's reported missile and drone strikes. "This senseless use of force must stop… Civilians must never be targets", insisted Mr. Schmale, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine .
Echoing that message, the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF , appealed for an end to the use of explosive weapons in civilian areas.
