UN chief condemns civilian targeting as Ukraine and Russia intensify long-range strikes

On August 6, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the latest attacks on civilian infrastructure by Ukraine and Russia, describing them as violations of international humanitarian law. Ukraine announced strikes on oil refineries in the Bashkortostan and Yaroslavl regions, located hundreds of kilometres from the front line, and said the operations were meant to push Russia toward peace. Russia responded with missile hits on a train station in the Kharkiv region and a commercial wheat-carrying vessel in the Black Sea, killing two people at the station and one on the ship.

Both parties have increased the use of drones and missiles, with Russia reporting the downing of hundreds of Ukrainian drones and Ukraine unable to intercept Russian missiles. The UN spokesperson Farhan Haq called for an immediate end to strikes on populated areas, while the IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warned of growing power outages at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Later that day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced an upcoming visit to Serbia, a country that has not imposed sanctions on Russia.