Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, “expressed shock” on April 6 at Russia’s April 4 missile strike on Kryvyi Rih, which killed nine children.
The attack killed 19 people, including nine children, the local authorities said. Four more children who were injured during the attack are in serious condition at the hospital, according to their report.
"It’s an unimaginable horror — nine children killed, most while playing in a park, as a military weapon exploded into shrapnel above them," Türk said in a statement released by the UN.
"The use of an explosive weapon with wide area effects by the Russian Federation in a densely populated area —and without any apparent military presence — demonstrates a reckless disregard for civilian life."
The local UN team visited the attack site on April 5 to document the damage and identify the children killed in the strike, according to the statement.
The UN's reaction comes as President Volodymyr Zelensky calls on Western allies to do more, stressing that "the pressure on Russia is still not enough."
"The number of air attacks is growing," Zelensky said in a Telegram post.
Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky's hometown, remains a frequent target of Russian attacks. The city, home to about 660,000 people, is the second-largest in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and lies roughly 70 kilometers (40 miles) from the front line.
With Russia still being a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the intergovernmental organization has largely refrained from directly condemning Moscow for its war crimes and has responded with caution.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
