Photo: EPA
The UN Security Council meeting has been scheduled for 19 May following a sharp escalation in Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian areas.
Ukraine requested the urgent session in response to intensified shelling and missile strikes. The UN Secretariat confirmed that the meeting will take place on 19 May, with China holding the presidency of the Council for the month.
Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Andriy Melnyk, sent a letter to China’s UN envoy Fu Cong, outlining the scale of recent attacks. According to him, between 4 and 11 May, Russian forces launched 16 ballistic missiles and around 600 drones against civilian targets, killing 40 people and injuring more than 200.
Melnyk stressed that Russia ignored Ukraine’s proposed ceasefire starting on 5 May and continued strikes on civilian infrastructure. He also noted that drone attacks persisted during the 9–11 May truce period, and that from 13 May onward, Russia launched over 800 drones, causing further deaths and destruction.
He stated that these actions demonstrate Russia’s deliberate choice of escalation and terror rather than pursuing diplomacy.
As previously reported, nine people were killed in Kyiv during a Russian strike on 14 May.
