Russia is waging war on Ukrainian civilians, not Armed Forces, Betsa says at U.N.

At a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa said Russia, unable to achieve its objectives on the battlefield, was increasingly targeting Ukraine’s civilian population.

This was reported by Ukrinform.

“Russia is failing to achieve its goals on the battlefield, so it is increasingly directing its hatred against civilians,” Betsa said.

She said that in the past month alone Moscow had carried out more than 6,000 drone attacks, used about 5,500 guided aerial bombs and launched 158 missiles of various types.

“This is terror directed not against armies but against maternity hospitals, apartment blocks, power plants and buses… It is terror aimed at extinguishing light, heat and hope. This is not how men fight. This is not how people treat each other,” the deputy minister said.

She said attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure directly impact the safety of nuclear facilities.

According to Betsa, Russia is deliberately striking power lines and substations that provide stable electricity supply to nuclear power plants, creating nuclear risks not only for Ukraine but for Europe as a whole.

She called on the international community to take urgent steps to ensure nuclear safety, including imposing temporary international oversight over the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

The deputy minister also highlighted the militarization of Ukrainian children and the forced displacement of civilians.

“Russia systematically subjects Ukrainian children to militarization, forcibly changes their identity, alters their citizenship status and seeks to impose a hateful ideology on them,” she said.

“This is a deliberate component of Russia’s policy of genocide against Ukraine and Ukrainians,” Betsa added.

She concluded by stressing the need to ensure that Russia and other potential aggressors are held accountable.

“Only the understanding that punishment is inevitable can compel Russia, other violators and potential aggressors to comply with international humanitarian law,” the deputy minister said.