Moldova's President condemns Russian missile attack in Ukraine
The President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, has strongly condemned a Russian missile attack in the centre of the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, which left seven people dead and more than a hundred injured.
"I strongly condemn Russia's rocket attack on Chernihiv," Sandu wrote on Twitter."Innocent lives lost, many injured - my thoughts are with the victims and their families. Such blatant aggression against civilians must not go unpunished. Russia must be held accountable for its atrocities in Ukraine."
The attack took place on Saturday morning, when a missile struck the central square of Chernihiv, a city of 280,000 people located about 150 kilometres north of Kyiv. The square is a popular tourist destination and is also home to a number of government buildings and businesses.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, also condemned the attack, calling it "abhorrent."
"It is abhorrent to attack the main square of a large city in the morning while people are out walking, some going to church to celebrate a religious day for many Ukrainians," Brown said in a statement. "I condemn this repeated pattern of Russian strikes on populated areas of Ukraine, causing death, massive destruction and increasing humanitarian need. Attacks against civilians or civilian targets are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law. They must stop."
The attack in Chernihiv is the latest in a series of Russian missile strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine. Russian forces have also attacked a children's hospital in Mariupol, a theatre in Mariupol that was sheltering civilians, and a train station in Kramatorsk that was crowded with people trying to flee the fighting.
The attacks have been widely condemned by the international community, and have led to calls for tougher sanctions against Russia.
