In a Security Council chamber where words have long struggled to match the scale of the suffering, the United States pressed Russia to end what it called a nightmare, as briefings described an intensified campaign against Ukraine's energy system during a brutal winter. Millions now live without heat, power, or water in temperatures that have dropped below minus twenty Celsius, and the weight of this falls hardest on children, the elderly, and those with the least means to endure it. Russia insists its target is military infrastructure, while Ukraine and its European partners see deliberate har
'Bring this nightmare to an end': US Urges Russia at UN as Ukraine's Energy Grid Faces Winter Collapse
Millions lack heat, electricity, and water as temperatures fall below minus 20°C; citizens melt snow for water and heat homes over candles.
Melting snow for water and heating homes over candles
In a Security Council chamber where words have long struggled to match the scale of the suffering, the United States pressed Russia to end what it called a nightmare, as briefings described an intensified campaign against Ukraine's energy system during a brutal winter. Millions now live without heat, power, or water in temperatures that have dropped below minus twenty Celsius, and the weight of this falls hardest on children, the elderly, and those with the least means to endure it. Russia insists its target is military infrastructure, while Ukraine and its European partners see deliberate harm to ordinary lives, and the session left the gap between those accounts unbridged. The matter now hangs on whether diplomacy turns into action before the cold and the wider tensions, including the reported use of a nuclear-capable missile near Poland, deepen further.
At a session of the UN Security Council, the United States told Russia, in blunt terms, to bring the nightmare to an end. Council briefings described a campaign against Ukraine's energy infrastructure that has intensified in the middle of a hard winter, when temperatures have fallen below minus 20 degrees Celsius.
The effects are simple and severe. Millions of people are without heat, electricity, or water. Residents are melting snow to make drinking water and warming their homes with candles, and UN officials said the suffering is falling unevenly, striking children, the elderly, and other vulnerable people hardest.
UN officials also raised the reported use of the Oreshnik, a nuclear-capable missile, near Poland, presented as a sign that the conflict is growing more menacing. Ukraine and its European allies called the strikes deliberate attacks on civilians. Russia said it targets military infrastructure only.
The session produced no new council action in the account available. The humanitarian situation is still deepening, and the open questions are whether the Council moves beyond statements, whether aid can reach people without heat and water, and whether the missile's use near Poland is repeated.
At a session of the U.N. Security Council, the message from the United States to Russia was blunt: bring this nightmare to an end. The words were aimed at a campaign that, according to council briefings, has intensified against Ukraine's energy infrastructure in the middle of a hard winter freeze.
The consequences, as described to the council, are basic ones. Millions of people in Ukraine are without heat, electricity or water. Temperatures have fallen below minus 20 degrees Celsius. In that cold, residents have been reduced to melting snow to get water and warming their homes with candles.
U.N. officials told the council that the burden is not falling evenly. Children, the elderly and other vulnerable civilians are being hit disproportionately by the strikes and the outages that follow them. Those groups have the least capacity to withstand a home without heating in freezing conditions.
The officials also pointed to a development they described as a dangerous escalation: Russia's use of the Oreshnik, a nuclear-capable missile, near Poland. The reporting does not detail the circumstances of that use, but it was raised in the council as a sign that the conflict is widening in its menace as well as its toll on civilians.
The two sides gave sharply different accounts of what the strikes are. Ukraine and its European allies condemned them as deliberate attacks on civilians. Russia maintained that it is targeting military infrastructure, not the civilian population.
The session did not, in the account available, produce any new council action. What the reporting does show is a humanitarian situation that is still deepening as the cold persists. What to watch next is whether the Security Council moves beyond statements, whether relief efforts can reach people without heat and water, and whether the Oreshnik's use near Poland is repeated.
Citas Notables
Bring this nightmare to an end.— United States representative, addressing Russia at the UN Security Council
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en Moneycontrol ↗
War & Conflict