The United Nations has recorded some 1,900 civilian casualties during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — with 52 children among 726 confirmed dead, a U.N. official told the Security Council Thursday.
Driving the news: U.N. political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said the actual number of civilians killed from Feb. 24 to March 15 was “likely much higher.” “This demands a thorough investigation and accountability,” said DiCarlo, who did not apportion blame to the killings.
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“Hundreds of residential buildings have been damaged or destroyed, as have hospitals and schools,” DiCarlo said.
Meanwhile, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the Security Council the WHO had verified 43 attacks on health care in Ukraine, which had killed at least 12 people.
The big picture: President Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken both said this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal and that the Russian military’s targeting of civilians constitutes a war crime.
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As the invasion entered a 23rd day on Friday, Russian airstrikes were targeting key Ukrainian cities including the capital, Kyiv, Kharkiv and Chernihiv — where an American citizen was among several people killed by Russian forces while waiting in line for bread, according to his family.
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