U.N. briefing: long-range Russian strikes linked to sharp rise in Ukrainian civilian casualties

Miroslav Vientcha, a delegate speaking to the United Nations Security Council, told members that fighting in Ukraine has intensified over the past three weeks and that "unrelenting large scale Russian aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns" have produced a marked rise in civilian casualties.

The U.N. briefing reported that on the night of June 16–17 drones and missiles struck seven districts in Kyiv, killing at least 28 civilians and injuring more than 130, and that rescue workers spent the night trying to free people trapped under a partially destroyed nine-story residential building. "Many people are still reported missing under the rubble of the 35 apartments destroyed that night," Vientcha said, adding that the strikes also affected Odessa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv and Kyiv Oblast and that more than 428 drones and missiles…