Call to the international community
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybyha has urged the international community to enhance pressure on Russia due to the massive attack on Ukrainian cities on Christmas Eve. As a result of these strikes, one person died and two were injured in Odesa. Furthermore, one civilian was killed in the Kharkiv region and another in Chernihiv. Injuries were also reported in the Zaporizhzhia and Sumy regions.
Impact of the attacks on the civilian population
Due to the attacks during the Christmas holidays, consumers in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions are left without electricity. Andrii Sybyha noted that Odesa suffers the most during these days, as Russia deliberately destroys energy and civilian infrastructure, leaving people without electricity, water, and heating in freezing conditions. He emphasized that this does not serve a military purpose but is merely an intention of Russia to kill people because they are Ukrainians.
Sybyha called on the world to act, to increase pressure on the aggressor, and to strengthen Ukraine's means to defend itself and its people, including air defense.
Andrii Sybyha
These events occur against the backdrop of the 1948 Genocide Convention, according to which deliberately creating conditions of life for a group intended to destroy it physically constitutes a crime.
These attacks highlight the ongoing risk to the civilian population in Ukraine, especially during winter frosts, when the absence of energy supply can lead to serious humanitarian consequences. Sybyha's call to the international community emphasizes the need for not only humanitarian aid but also military support to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities.
The response of the global community to these events may determine the future security prospects in the region and highlight the importance of support in the fight against Russia's aggression.